All men with advanced prostate cancer should undergo genetic testing

Study shows that prostate cancer

 whose cancer has spread to other parts of their body should consider for gene test. Under this test, inherited abnormalities in DNA repair genes would be testing that could help unveil vital information about patient’s health and cancer risk

The research findings, conducted on nearly 700 men in Britain and the United States of America. Study’s co-researcher Dr. Michael Walsh from Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in New York City said that prostate cancer is the most heritable of human malignancies

Walsh was of the view that main benefit of identifying cancer-causing mutations is prevention and early detection in families. With inherited genomic information, specific therapies could be provided that would prove effective

The researchers discovered that there are 12% of men with prostate cancer at an advanced stage have defects in genes that have been designed to fix damage to DNA than with 4.6% of patients with the cancer but that have not spread

In the study, the researchers have looked for mutations in DNA-repair genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2. These genes are generally associated with breast and ovarian cancers and in CHEK2 and ATM. Out of all, the most common defects were in the BRCA2 gene

Study’s senior co-author Kenneth Offit, head of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said that the study’s message is very simple that advanced prostate cancer patients should consider of undergoing genetic testing irrespective of the family history aspect

Currently, only those men, who have family history, are being offered genetic testing. Also, there are very less chances that insurers would cover the cost for other patients. But the researchers have affirmed that they will urge for change in clinical guidelines

The guidelines should be changed after knowing the fact that a patient has a DNA-repair-gene mutation that could play a vital role in deciding which treatment to use. Study’s co-author Peter Nelson from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center was of the view that there is a new class of drug called PARP inhibitors that is being used for women having BRCA-related ovarian cancer

The class of drug is proving beneficial against advanced prostate cancer in clinical and could turn out to be the first targeted therapy for the same. 

Dr Nelson said the use of means for proces platinum chemotherapy for ovarian cancer can also be used in patients with advanced prostate cancer treatment

Genetic testing could prove quite beneficial for families as well. There are many men with the genetic abnormality have very close relatives having other cancers than others who do not have a mutation. Therefore, if a man is aware of an inherited mutation then he/she could alert relatives about the same

Every year, nearly 200,000 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 27,000 lose their lives from the disease. The new study acts as a part of already growing body of research that shows that the harmful effects of mutations in the DNA-repair genes

Nancy Dawson a medical oncologist at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center said that the study findings are especially important as many of the men with mutations have close family members with a number of malignancies

It is a known fact that men with prostate cancer were more likely to have a close link with prostate cancer, but they also said to have a subtle link with other cancers as well that need to be explored

Study : the researchers have conducted nearly 700 men in Britain and the United States of America

. Researchers looked for mutations in well-known DNA-repair genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are typically linked to breast and ovarian cancers, as well as in more obscure genes called CHEK2 and ATM. The most common defects involved the BRCA2 gene. The frequency of the mutations did not differ significantly based on age or family history of prostate cancer

Researchers in this matter confirmed that genetic tests could be important for families too. Many men who suffer from the genetic abnormality had close relatives with cancers other than prostate cancer compared with the study group that did not have a mutation. So a man aware that he has an inherited mutation could serve as a "sentinel" for relatives who might share the same defect, prompting them to learn their genetic status. A woman whose brother knows of his own BRCA mutation, for example, might decide to get tested and, if the result is positive, have preventive surgery or take other steps to reduce her risk of ovarian cancer

"Men with prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of their body should be considered for genetic testing, a new study suggests. Testing for inherited abnormalities in DNA repair genes could provide patients and family members important information about their health and cancer risk, the study authors said."

"With the exception of some cancer syndromes in children, prostate cancer is the most heritable of human malignancies," said the study's co-lead author, Dr. Michael Walsh. He is a geneticist and pediatric oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in New York City

the main benefit of identifying cancer-causing mutations has been prevention and early detection in families. Now we can use inherited genomic information to target treatment, with specific therapies shown to be effective in those with specific genomic subsets of prostate cancer,

More study is needed to determine whether abnormal DNA repair genes could help predict disease outcomes, the scientists said. The study team consisted of researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, the University of Washington School of Medicine, the University of Michigan and the Institute of Cancer Research, London