Wednesday 27 March 2013
Genetic screening for prostate cancer is now a real possibility following results from the largest-ever study into inherited risk factors for the disease. A clinical trial is likely to start this year as a result of the ground-breaking findings from an international group led by The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the University of Cambridge, funded by Cancer Research UK and the European Commission.
The three-year study of 50,000 men (prostate cancer patients and controls without cancer), published today in Nature Genetics, identified 23 new genetic variations associated with an increased risk of the disease. This raises the total discovered so far to 78. Significantly, 16 of the 23 newly discovered genetic changes are associated with the disease at its most aggressive and life-threatening.
None of the 23 genetic changes on its own raises a man’s risk of prostate cancer by more than a slight amount. But when a man has a number of the genetic changes these can combine to raise his risk significantly. With the genetic changes discovered, scientists can for the first time identify men who have inherited just over a 50% lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer.
Following these discoveries scientists now think they can identify the top 1% of men with the highest risk of developing prostate cancer who have 4.7 times the risk of the population average. It is these men who, it is hoped, will be identified by screening. They would then receive close monitoring in order that, if they do develop the disease, it is caught early when it is easier to treat. The way in which that screening would be conducted – for example, through blood tests or biopsies – will be indicated by the results of future clinical studies.
Study leader Professor Ros Eeles, Professor of Oncogenetics at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and Honorary Clinical Consultant at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: “These results are the single biggest leap forward in finding the genetic causes of prostate cancer yet made. They allow us, for the first time, to identify men who have a very high risk of developing prostate cancer during their lifetime through inheritance of multiple risk genetic variants. If we can show from further studies that such men benefit from regular screening, we could have a big impact on the number of people dying from the disease, which is still far too high.”
Over 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK each year, with almost 11,000 men dying from the disease. If it is caught early treatments are more effective, which is why identifying those most at risk, particularly from aggressive forms of the disease, is so important.
The team, from the ICR and the University of Cambridge, analysed 211,000 genetic variants from blood samples from 25,000 prostate cancer patients and compared them with those of a similar number of healthy men. The gene variants were analysed as part of the COGS (Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study) project, which publishes a series of research papers simultaneously today about the causes of prostate, breast and ovarian cancer.
Professor Alan Ashworth, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, said: “Up until now, our management of prostate cancer risk has been a fairly crude process involving the evaluation of just a handful of major risk genes. But our new research really changes the game for use of genetics in prostate cancer, by identifying so many new prostate cancer variants that screening for different levels of risk now becomes a real possibility. Today’s studies, across prostate, breast and ovarian cancer, provide a vivid illustration of just how powerful genetic research can be in uncovering the causes of cancer and opening up new avenues for prevention and treatment.”
Dr Julie Sharp, Senior Science Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “We still have a limited understanding of how prostate cancer develops and why some men’s cancer is more aggressive. This research gives us new clues that could help doctors screen men at greater risk of the disease and could highlight individuals whose disease needs more urgent treatment.”
ENDS
For more information contact the ICR press office on 020 7153 5312 / [email protected].
Notes to editors
The paper, ‘Identification of 23 new prostate cancer susceptibility loci using the iCOGS custom genotyping array’ is due to be published online in Nature Genetics on 27th March at 1600 London time / 1200 US Eastern time which is also when the embargo will lift.
The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is one of the world’s most influential cancer research institutes.
Scientists and clinicians at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) are working every day to make a real impact on cancer patients’ lives. Through its unique partnership with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and ‘bench-to-bedside’ approach, the ICR is able to create and deliver results in a way that other institutions cannot. Together the two organisations are rated in the top four cancer centres globally.
The ICR has an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. It provided the first convincing evidence that DNA damage is the basic cause of cancer, laying the foundation for the now universally accepted idea that cancer is a genetic disease. Today it leads the world at isolating cancer-related genes and discovering new targeted drugs for personalised cancer treatment.
As a college of the University of London, the ICR provides postgraduate higher education of international distinction. It has charitable status and relies on support from partner organisations, charities and the general public.
The ICR’s mission is to make the discoveries that defeat cancer. For more information visit www.icr.ac.uk