Prostate cancer gene finding could mean better treatments

[SteveH]

(CBS) Better treatments for prostate cancer may be in the offing, now that scientists have discovered five genes linked to the deadliest forms of the disease

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"While previous studies have suggested that genetic background influences prostate cancer outcomes, this is the first study to validate genetic markers associated with lethal disease," Dr. Janet L. Stanford, co-director of prostate cancer research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said in a written statement.


The study - published in the August 16 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention - looked at DNA samples from 1,300 prostate cancer patients to identify 22 variations associated with prostate cancer mortality. Then the researchers compared the 22 gene markers to a Swedish study of DNA from 2,900 prostate cancer patients, an analysis revealed that there were five associated with prostate cancer death.

Patients who had four or all five of the genetic markers were 50 percent more likely to die than patients who had two or fewer.

"Ultimately, these markers could be used in the clinic, along with other known predictors that are used to assess tumor aggressiveness," Stanford said.

The researchers hope the discovery could lead to the development of a simple blood test that could which men should receive aggressive treatment versus a more conservative "watchful waiting" approach.

More than 240,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer are diagnosed each year and nearly 34,000 die from the disease. Prostate cancer typically occurs in older men.

Dr. William Phelps, a research program director for the American Cancer Society, told WebMD that prostate cancer patients are usually treated with surgery and radiation because there's no reliable way to determine if the cancer is slow-growing or aggressive. He said finding better tests and more effective therapies is an important goal.


"There has been an explosion of research examining targeted cancer therapies, and while we haven't struck pay dirt in prostate cancer yet, I think it's just a matter of time."

The American Cancer Society has more on prostate cancer.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162- ... 91704.html