Gene test identifies prostate cancer risk
Men at greatest risk of developing deadly prostate cancer could be identified by a £100 test. American researchers discovered 54 genetic markers that predispose men to suffering from the most aggressive form of the disease. They said such tests could be offered decades before prostate cancer was likely to develop. The development could spare thousands of men unnecessary biopsies, hormone treatment and traumatic surgery.
NEW £100 tests could identify men at greatest risk of developing deadly prostate cancer.
Scientists have discovered 54 genetic markers that predispose men to suffering from the most aggressive form of the disease.
The research, published in the British Medical Journal, developed a prediction tool by analysing more than 200,000 gene variants from more than 30,000 men to find those most closely linked with the strongest form of the disease.
On average, one in eight men will develop prostate cancer during their lifetime. The majority of cases will develop slowly in old age, and never prove fatal. But current screening methods are unreliable, so thousands of men undergo unnecessary biopsies, hormone treatment and traumatic surgery for slowgrowing tumours that are harmless.
The new risk tool, tested on more than 6,000 men, found those with scores in the top 2 per cent had almost three times the risk of aggressive prostate cancer, compared with average risk. The discovery by US scientists means such men could be closely monitored, and targeted for screening, with thousands more saved from needless tests, biopsies and treatment.
Researchers from the Center for Multimodel Imaging and Genetics, in La Jolla, California, said such tests could be offered decades before prostate cancer was likely to develop. The study also involved the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital, and British researchers said the gene tests could cost health services less than £100 per patient.
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer for men in the UK, with 47,000 diagnoses annually. Researchers said those found to be at heightened risk would be encouraged to have blood tests that check for raised levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Currently, the NHS does not have a national screening for PSA testing, but men aged 50 or over can have tests if they ask for them.
Dr Tyler Seibert, one of the researchers, said: “For high-risk groups, I would also be thinking about starting screening earlier, perhaps in their 30s.”