Prostate cancer risk rises in men with inherited genetic condition

New study adds prostate to cancers associated with Lynch syndrome

2013-04-01

(Press-News.org) ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Men with an inherited genetic condition called Lynch syndrome face a higher lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer and appear to develop the disease at an earlier age, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition linked to a higher risk of several types of cancer. People with Lynch syndrome have up to 80 percent lifetime risk of colorectal cancer and are also more likely to develop endometrial, gastric, ovarian, urinary tract, pancreatic and brain tumors. Overall, about 1 in 440 people are carriers for the genetic mutation, making it one of the most common inherited cancer conditions.

The findings in prostate cancer have implications for screening younger men who may be at higher risk of the disease. Recent guideline recommendations advise against prostate cancer screening in men younger than 75 who do not have any symptoms.

"For men with an inherited risk factor for prostate cancer, they should still be thinking about prostate cancer screening. Our study suggests men with Lynch syndrome might benefit from regular prostate cancer screening," says lead study author Victoria M. Raymond, a certified genetic counselor with the University of Michigan's Cancer Genetics Clinic.

The researchers looked at 198 families who have a strong family history of cancer and were enrolled in registries at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center or at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. These family registries included 4,127 men who were included in this analysis.

Among men with a mutation linked to Lynch syndrome, the researchers estimated their lifetime risk of prostate cancer to be 30 percent, compared to 18 percent among the general population. Men aged 20-59 who carried this mutation also faced a higher risk of prostate cancer than the general public.

Results of the study appear online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Earlier studies have suggested that Lynch syndrome might play a role in inherited prostate cancer, but studies to date have been controversial.

"It's been tricky to figure out if prostate cancer is really associated with Lynch syndrome. It's a very common cancer. When you see it occurring in families, it's difficult to figure out if that's because it's associated with Lynch syndrome or just because it's really common," Raymond says.

The current study uses a more rigorous statistical analysis and pulls from a larger number of people. This same method has previously linked Lynch syndrome to endometrial cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Prostate cancer statistics: 238,590 Americans will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and 29,720 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society

INFORMATION:

Additional authors: Bhramar Mukherjee, Fei Wang, Shu-Chen Huang, Elena M. Stoffel, Fay Kastrinos, Sapna Syngal, Kathleen A. Cooney, Stephen B. Gruber

Funding: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute grants K24-113433, R01-CA136621, P50-CA69568, P30-CA014089 and P30-CA46592

Disclosure: None

Reference: Journal of Clinical Oncology, doi: 10.1200/JCO.2012.44.1238, published online March 25, 2013

Resources:

U-M Cancer AnswerLine, 800-865-1125

U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, http://www.mcancer.org

Clinical trials at U-M, http://www.UMClinicalStudies.org/cancer

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Mechanism of mutant histone protein in childhood brain cancer revealed

2013-04-01

Most cancer treatments are blunt. In an attempt to eradicate tumors, oncologists often turn to radiation or chemotherapy, which can damage healthy tissue along with the cancerous growths. New research from C. David Allis' laboratory at Rockefeller University may bring scientists closer to designing cancer therapeutics that can target tumors with pinpoint accuracy. Their findings, published last week in Science Express, follow a recent series of discoveries by several international genome sequencing consortiums that directly links a mutated histone protein to a rare brain ...

Electroencephalography underused investigative tool in hospitals

2013-04-01

Rochester, MN, April 1, 2013 – A retrospective study of patients who had in-hospital electroencephalography (EEG) has established that EEG is a valuable tool that could be deployed more widely to identify treatable causes of impaired consciousness in the hospital setting. The study is published in the April issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Altered mental status (AMS) and paroxysmal spells of uncertain origin are common among hospitalized patients. Impaired consciousness can sometimes be linked to metabolic or cardiac causes, but some of these spells may represent ...

Mayo Clinic: New multiple myeloma treatment guidelines personalize therapy for patients

2013-04-01

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center have developed new guidelines to treat recently diagnosed multiple myeloma patients who are not participating in clinical trials. The guidelines give physicians practical, easy to follow recommendations for providing initial therapy, stem cell transplant and maintenance therapy. The guidelines are published in the current issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings and represent a consensus opinion of hematologists at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center sites in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona. "Multiple myeloma is an ...

Research deciphers HIV attack plan

2013-04-01

LOS ALAMOS, N. M., March 29, 2013—A new study by Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Pennsylvania scientists defines previously unknown properties of transmitted HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. The viruses that successfully pass from a chronically infected person to a new individual are both remarkably resistant to a powerful initial human immune-response mechanism, and they are blanketed in a greater amount of envelope protein that helps them access and enter host cells. These findings will help inform vaccine design and interpretation of vaccine trials, ...

Newly approved blood thinner may increase susceptibility to some viral infections

2013-04-01

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina indicates that a newly approved blood thinner that blocks a key component of the human blood clotting system may increase the risk and severity of certain viral infections, including flu and myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart and a significant cause of sudden death in children and young adults. For the past 50 years, people with the heartbeat irregularity, atrial fibrillation, and others at increased risk for forming potentially life-threatening blood clots have been given the ...

Congestion in the Earth's mantle

2013-04-01

Jena (Germany) The Earth is dynamic. What we perceive as solid ground beneath our feet, is in reality constantly changing. In the space of a year Africa and America are drifting apart at the back of the Middle Atlantic for some centimeters while the floor of the Pacific Ocean is subducted underneath the South American Continent. "In 100 million years' time Africa will be pulled apart and North Australia will be at the equator," says Prof. Dr. Falko Langenhorst from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). Plate tectonics is leading to a permanent renewal of the ...

Researchers discover new clues about how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis develops

2013-04-01

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal degenerative disease. The discovery holds promise, they say, for identifying new targets for interrupting the disease's progress. In a study described online in Nature Neuroscience, the researchers found that, in mice bred with a gene mutation that causes human ALS, dramatic changes occurred in oligodendrocytes — cells that create insulation for ...

New models predict drastically greener Arctic in coming decades

2013-04-01

New research predicts that rising temperatures will lead to a massive "greening," or increase in plant cover, in the Arctic. In a paper published on March 31 in Nature Climate Change, scientists reveal new models projecting that wooded areas in the Arctic could increase by as much as 50 percent over the next few decades. The researchers also show that this dramatic greening will accelerate climate warming at a rate greater than previously expected. "Such widespread redistribution of Arctic vegetation would have impacts that reverberate through the global ecosystem," said ...

Pitt team finds immunity protein that ramps up inflammation, and agents that can block it

2013-04-01

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have discovered a new biological pathway of innate immunity that ramps up inflammation and then identified agents that can block it, leading to increased survival and improved lung function in animal models of pneumonia. They reported their findings today in Nature Immunology. Pneumonia and other infections sometimes provoke an inflammatory response from the body that is more detrimental than the disease-causing bacteria, said senior author Rama Mallampalli, M.D, professor and vice chair for research, Department ...

Is guided self-help effective in treating childhood obesity?

2013-04-01

It is known that family-based treatment that combines nutrition and exercise education, along with behavior modification, is a good approach to help children lose weight. But clinic-based weight-control programs for childhood obesity are not accessible to many families, due to issues such as cost or time commitment. Initial studies at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine indicate that a self-help treatment program for overweight children and their parents, guided by clinical experts, may be an effective solution. The study, led by Kerri Boutelle, ...

Wiley advances Knowitall Solutions with new trendfinder application for user-friendly chemometric analysis and additional enhancements to analytical workflows

Prostate cancer risk rises in men with inherited genetic condition

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: