A GENETIC screening test for prostate cancer could be here within two years,
say researchers who have discovered gene variations linked to the disease.
Prostate cancer is the commonest form of cancer in men, and kills 32,000 each
year in the US alone.
Sean Tavtigian of Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City and his colleagues have
found variations in a gene called HPC2 in a region of chromosome 17
that affects the risk of getting prostate cancer. In 1996, University of Utah
scientists linked this region to a familial prostate cancer.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled. We鈥檝e been looking for ten years,鈥� says Lisa Albright at the
University of Utah. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got number one. Whether it鈥檚 the only one in this
region will remain controversial, and it won鈥檛 be the only prostate cancer
驳别苍别.鈥�
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Tavtigian鈥檚 team has identified four different variations in HPC2
linked to prostate cancer. Two are rare mutations that appear only in families
in which the disease is common.
But the other two variations of the gene, called L217 and
T541, occur in at least 3 per cent of men. When found together, these
variants increase a man鈥檚 risk of prostate cancer up to threefold.
That means these genetic variations could account for up to 6 per cent of the
180,000 cases of prostate cancer reported each year in the US. The findings have
been confirmed by an independent study led by Timothy Rebbeck of the University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
A genetic screening test could help identify men at risk before the disease
strikes. What鈥檚 more, Tavtigian says the National Cancer Institute near
Washington DC is already testing a drug called Proscar to see if it reduces the
risk of prostate cancer developing. He hopes that new tests plus new drugs could
help save lives.
