| deCode discovers Genetic Variant Responsible for Prostate Cancer |
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Researchers at deCODE genetics along with fellow academic researchers in Iceland, the US and Sweden today reported the discovery of a common genetic variant that predisposes to prostate cancer.
The genetic variant, which was discovered in deCODE genetics, Inc. - a biopharmaceutical company based in Reykjavik, Iceland and confirmed in several American and Swedish cohorts, puts around one man in every 10 at higher risk of prostate cancer marking a turning point in understanding and diagnosing the most common cancer among men. deCODE applies its discoveries in human genetics to the development of drugs for common diseases.
Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Cancer occurs when cells of the prostate mutate and begin to multiply out of control. These cells may spread (metastasize) from the prostate to other parts of the body, especially the bones and lymph nodes. Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urination, erectile dysfunction and other symptoms.
The variant is placed within a purported gene of unknown function in a region on ’chromosome 8’ known to be one of the most frequently amplified chromosomal regions in prostate tumors. Chromosome 8 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 8 spans about 146 million base pairs (the building blocks of DNA) and represents between 4.5 percent and 5 percent of the total DNA in cells.
About 19% of men of European lineage with prostate cancer carry at least one copy of the variant, which confers an approximately 60% increase in risk of the disease and accounts for approximately 8% of all cases. It confers just about the same increase in risk among African Americans but is twice as common.
The study, which was published yesterday in the journal Nature Genetics, revealed the discovery in understanding, diagnosing and treating the cancer, which is rising in incidence with over 30,100 new cases a year in Britain. The paper titled as: "A common variant associated with prostate cancer in European and African populations," discloses that the variant accounts for approximately 16% of prostate cancer among African American men and thereby contributes to the higher incidence of the disease among African Americans.
Dr Kari Stefansson-CEO of deCODE genetics and senior author on the study said, "This is one of the first genetic variants ever found to confer significant risk of a major cancer among the population in general. Most previously identified cancer genes have their effect on cancer risk only in families with a clear family history of cancer, or are only found mutated in tumors," He Further added, "This discovery is important from a medical standpoint because the only firmly established risk factors for the disease until now have been age, family history and ethnicity."
As the variant appears to be related with the development of more aggressive prostate tumors, Dr. Stefansson suggests, "A diagnostic test for the variant may enable doctors to make more informed decisions as to how closely they should monitor those who are at high risk, and how aggressively they should treat the disease once it presents. We plan to use this discovery as the basis for the development of such a diagnostic test."
The study included the total 3430 number of patient and analyzed 2675 control samples. Study groups were extracted from the Icelandic Cancer Registry; CAPS1-a population-based study of prostate cancer patients in Sweden; the Prostate Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) at Northwestern University; and the Flint Men’s Health Study and the Prostate Cancer Genetics Project, both of the University of Michigan.
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