Gene raises prostate cancer risk by 50%

<body leftmargin="0" bgcolor="#000060" text="#FFFFFF" link="#FFFF00" vlink="#FF9900"> <b> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" size="4">Gene may raise prostate cancer risk by 50%</font></p> </b> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="2" face="Arial" color="#00FF00">Results point to newly found causes of the disease </font> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" size="1">Posted Feb. 16, 2005<br> Courtesy Mount Sinai Hospital/School of Medicine<br> and World Science staff</font> <b> <font size="2" face="Arial"><br> <br> A single gene variant may increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer by 50%, says a new study led by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. </font></b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="2" face="Arial">The study is published this week in the scientific journal <i>Cancer Research</i>. </font></b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="2" face="Arial"> In 2001, researchers published a study indicating that a gene, known as KLF6, fails to function properly in at least 50 to 60 percent of all prostate cancers. This was the first single gene shown to be responsible for the majority of cases of this disease, which affects approximately 200,000 men each year. <br> <br> This finding led to the question as to whether or not mutations in this gene that are present from birth might increase prostate cancer risk. </font></b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="2" face="Arial">The school's John Martignetti and colleagues addressed this question by analyzing differences in the KLF6 gene in 3,411 blood samples from men in registries of three major cancer centers. Samples were divided into three groups based on the people from which they were taken – those with prostate cancer who had a family history of prostate cancer, those with prostate cancer and no family history of the disease, and those without prostate cancer. <br> <br> About 17% of the patients with a family history of the disease and 15% of patients with no such history carried at lease one copy a single KLF6 variant, but only 11% of the controls had a copy, the researchers found.</font></b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="2" face="Arial">The significant difference in prevalence of the variant among three groups indicates that individuals with this particular gene variant face an approximately 50% increased risk for developing prostate cancer, the researchers said.<br> <br> In the 2001 study, Martignetti and colleagues reported that KLF6, functions as a "tumor suppressor" gene, meaning that it restricts tumor growth. When it malfunctions, cell growth goes unchecked and cancer may result. KLF6 defects are implicated in a number of other human cancers, including colorectal, lung and liver. <br> <br> The variant of the gene investigated in the report published this week produces an altered version of the KLF6 protein. Rather than entering the cell nucleus to suppress cell growth as the KLF6 protein usually does, this altered version remains in the cytoplasm, the area of the cell outside the nucleus. There it has the opposite effect, thus increasing cell growth and potentially leading to the development of cancer, the researchers said.<br> <br> Prostate cancer is among the most prevalent cancers and is the second leading cause of male cancer-related death in the United States. Incidence is expected to double among men over age 65 in the next 25 years, according to the authors. “Our findings highlight a completely novel and previously unexplored pathway for the development of prostate cancer,” said Dr. Martignetti. “Ultimately we plan to investigate the potential of this gene as a diagnostic tool, an indicator of a patients risk for prostate cancer, and as a potential target for new treatments.”</font> </p> </b> </body>