Five genes are responsible for nearly half of prostate cancer cases, according to a research conducted in Sweden issued online Thursday.
Researchers examined DNA samples from 2,893 prostate cancer patients and 1,781 men without the disease in Sweden and found that those having four of the five genes were 4.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer than those who had none. If they had all of the five genes and a family history of prostate cancer, their risk increased 9.5 times.
The average age of the men in the study was the mid-60's.
The research was jointly conducted by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, the Harvard School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. , will appear in the January 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Our finding provides an opportunity to supplement the well-established risk factors by looking at how many of these variants a man has inherited," Dr. Jianfeng Xu of Wake Forest University said in a statement.
The researchers are planning to test DNA from U.S. men to see if their genes are linked to prostate cancer as well.
A conventional method now used for prostate cancer screening is a combination of blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and physical exams, which is considered imperfect.
"A subset of men deemed to have a low risk of prostate cancer based on their PSA levels may in fact be at significantly elevated risk due to inheriting one or more of the genetic variants," said Dr. Lilly Zheng of Wake Forest University.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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