Aggressive cancer gene link

Researchers from North Carolina have discovered the first gene linked to aggressive prostate cancer. They hope their breakthrough will lead to advances in predicting which prostate cancers are likely to be indolent (grow slowly) and which will progress quickly — still one of the major challenges affecting the kind of treatment patients choose to undergo, and the side effects they may face.

The scientists looked at the genetic make-up of close to 5000 men with aggressive prostate cancer and around 12,200 men with slower-growing cancer. According to their findings, men who carried a certain genetic defect were up to 25% more likely to develop the aggressive form of the disease.

More tests and studies are still needed. While having the newly-found gene doesn’t necessarily mean a man will have aggressive cancer, the researchers hope that it may point the way towards other genetic markers that will allow doctors to better predict the course of the disease.