The discovery raises expectations for improving early diagnosis methods of the disease in the future.
The researchers of his Medical School Johns Hopkins University, led by urology and oncology professors Kathleen Cooney and William Isaacs, who published the study in the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded that men who inherit this mutated gene are ten to 20 times more likely to develop prostate cancer.
Although this gene accounts for only a small percentage of all prostate cancer cases (it is estimated that only one in 100 men has this gene), the discovery is considered important because it paves the way for a more substantial investigation into the genetic background of the disease.
The mutation concerns the HOXB13 gene, which plays a key role in the development of the prostate organ in the fetus, as well as in its subsequent normal functioning. Those who have the gene are much more likely to have a first-degree relative, such as a father or brother, who also has the disease.
This mutation is much more common in men who have a family history of prostate cancer and have been diagnosed before the age of 55.
The researchers hope that, after further research, at some point they will be able to create a genetic diagnostic test for early diagnosis of high-risk individuals.
Hereditary prostate cancer is estimated to account for 10-15% of all cases of this form of cancer. Previous research has identified multiple genetic regions that appear to be involved in prostate cancer, but no single gene has ever been identified.
Source: RES-EAP