Warning over the gene that doubles prostate cancer risk

PROSTATE screening should be introduced for thousands of men with a dangerous gene mutation, a study suggests.

Experts at the Institute of Cancer Research in London found that men with the BRCA2 genetic fault have nearly double the risk of developing the disease.

The scientists called for a ‘systematic’ screening programme of annual blood tests for men with the mutation, which is similar to the BRCA1 gene fault carried by Angelina Jolie.

One in 300 males carry the BRCA2 mutation. This amounts to roughly 110,000 men and boys in the UK – but only a tiny fraction know about it.

At the moment there is no NHS routine screening programme for anyone with prostate cancer.

The only test available – the ‘prostate specific antigen’ or PSA test – is considered too unreliable for a formal screening programme, so is offered only to men over 50 if they request it.

But the scientists said that for men with the BRCA2 mutation, the benefits of early diagnosis outweigh the test’s shortfalls. Professor Rosalind Eeles said her team will today submit their findings to the European Association of Urology, which sets professional guidelines for prostate cancer, in a bid to make screening routine for men with the mutation.

The availability of genetic testing on the NHS varies hugely across the country, so the first problem is identifying those with the fault.

But Professor Eeles pointed out that the Government had made ‘genomics’ a central part of its health strategy, so the situation ‘is going to improve’.

The research team, which is funded by Cancer Research UK, tracked 1,400 men for three years. Those with the faulty gene were 95 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer than those without.

And 77 per cent of carriers who developed the cancer had an aggressive form, compared with 40 per cent of non-carriers.

They also developed the disease at a younger age – 61 compared to 64, the European Urology journal reported.

Crucially, 80 per cent of those in the trial whose disease was spotted using annual PSA tests were diagnosed before it had spread, meaning they could be treated effectively.

The Daily Mail is campaigning for an urgent improvement in prostate cancer treatments and diagnosis, which lags years behind other diseases. For breast cancer, women have regular mammograms if they carry a BRCA mutation.

Prostate is the biggest cancer killer in men, with 47,500 diagnosed every year and more than 11,500 deaths. Professor Eeles said BRCA faults are often passed from parent to child, including from mother to son, so men with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer should get a DNA test to see if they carry the mutation. She added: ‘We would recommend offering men with a fault in the BRCA2 regular PSA tests, so they can be diagnosed and treated earlier.’

In 2013 Miss Jolie, 44, chose to have her breasts, ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to reduce her cancer risk after her mother died of ovarian cancer aged just 56.

Referrals for genetic testing doubled in Britain in the two months after she announced she had undergone the first of her procedures.

Sarah Coghlan, of the Movember men’s health charity, said: ‘It’s very important for clinicians to understand what’s driving a man’s risk of disease so that they can choose the best preventative action and appropriate treatment.’