Gene Combination May Cause Prostate Cancer
04 July 2008 – Scientists have found that the partnering of two genes could be responsible for up to 600 British men developing a drug resistant and potentially deadly form of prostate cancer each year.
Lead scientist Professor Colin Cooper, from The Institute of Cancer Research's Everyman Centre , said the new study provided an important insight into how a type of prostate cancer, resistant to drug therapy, may develop.
"Most prostate cancers are dependent upon male hormones (androgens) for growth and are treated with drugs which block that hormone and prevent the cancer growing. But when the two genes (C15orf21 and ETV1) fuse together they cannot be controlled by the hormones and therefore the prostate cancer may not respond to conventional therapies... This research also highlights the need for more research into developing new drug therapies which can treat men with this hormone resistant prostate cancer type," commented Professor Cooper.
