Results of a new study support what researchers have known for some
time: there is a connection between breast cancer and prostate cancer—at
least when it comes to certain genes. The new study reports that men
who have the mutated breast cancer gene BRCA1 are nearly four times more
likely to develop prostate cancer than men without the gene.
The BRCA1 (breast cancer 1, early onset) gene is a tumor suppressor
gene, and it produces a protein that helps prevent cells from growing
and dividing uncontrollably, as occurs in cancer. BRCA1 genes also
provide instructions for making a protein involved in repairing damaged
DNA. Mutated BRCA1 genes carry a cancer risk and can be inherited from
either parent.
Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal
Marsden NHS Foundation Trust reported that out of 913 men who underwent
prostate cancer screening, three-quarters of those who had the mutated
BRCA1 gene were diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 64, indicating
that having the mutated gene might be an early warning for men with a
greater risk of developing the disease at a younger age.
According to Prostate Action Chief Executive Emma Malcolm, “We’ve
long known about the link between breast cancer and prostate cancer and
this research confirms the likelihood of men developing prostate cancer
from the inherited faulty BRCA1 gene.” Early detection of men with the
mutated BRCA1 gene could allow doctors to monitor them for prostate
cancer from a younger age.
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