New Gene Variants Found for Prostate Cancer

A new, not yet understood genetic mechanism that leads to prostate cancer has been discovered. Researchers have found genetic variations on chromosome 8 that are associated with a five times greater risk of prostate cancer and may account for as much as two-thirds of African-American cases and one-third of cases in Caucasian-Americans. These DNA variations could be potential biomarkers that can be used to identify high risk individuals who need to be more vigilant about cancer screening.

On a related note, Guardian Unlimited has a profile of Bruce Ponder, professor of oncology at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute. He led the international consortium that discovered the BRCA1 gene and its role in breast cancer. Here he talks about the estimate that 30% of breast cancer cases have a hereditary component.

Most of that [hereditary] effect is not when you have a very rare genetic mutation like BRCA1 or 2. It’s not a strong effect. It’s a genetic predisposition of a combination of a lot of weak effects. It’s the same genetic variation that determines the shape of your face; there’s a familial resemblance but it’s not exactly the same. It’s due to the whole hand of cards you’ve been dealt and this is probably the genetic pattern that underlies most illnesses, from high blood pressure to asthma to diabetes.

Increasingly, we’re going to be moving towards personalised medicine, tailoring medical intervention to individuals, but in almost all areas it will be a matter of probability. The danger is that you will give people information about their risk which they will misinterpret and become needlessly anxious about.

I’m not feeling so anxious knowing that wise men like Dr. Ponder are working to ensure the genome revolution does not do more harm than good.

Tags: bruce ponder, genetics, genes, genome, dna, prostate cancer, chromsome 8, cancer, diseases, illness, health, medicine