Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature, Prostate Cancer, Vanderbilt / 24.03.2020
Genetic Variations Altering Familial Risk of Prostate Cancer Identified
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jeffrey R. Smith, MD PhD
Department of Medicine, Division of Genetic Medicine
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, and Vanderbilt Genetics Institute
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Medical Research Service
Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Veterans Administration
Nashville, TN
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Roughly 20% of men with prostate cancer have a family history of the disease, and 5% meet criteria for hereditary prostate cancer. Although prostate cancer has the greatest heritability of all common cancers (twice that of breast cancer), extensive heterogeneity of its inherited causes has presented a considerable obstacle for traditional pedigree-based genetic investigative approaches. Inherited causes across, as well as within families are diverse.
This study introduced a new familial case-control study design that uses extent of family history as a proxy for genetic burden. It compared a large number of men with prostate cancer, each from a separate family with a strong history of the disease, to screened men with no personal or family history. The study comprehensively deconstructs how the 8q24 chromosomal region impacts risk of hereditary prostate cancer, introducing several new analytical approaches. The locus had been known to alter risk of prostate, breast, colon, ovarian, and numerous additional cancers. (more…)