Gene clue to onset of prostate cancer

The genetic make-up of a man's immune system can have a direct bearing on his chance of developing prostate cancer, researchers say today.

Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research found some individuals could be more susceptible to prostate cancers because of small changes to genes that are important for the development of the immune system and the formation of new blood vessels.

These changes could also influence how the disease progresses, according to the study funded by Cancer Research UK and the Prostate Cancer Charitable Trust in collaboration with Southampton University Hospitals.

The study, published in the journal Cancer Research, analysed genes that produce proteins called cytokines in more than 200 prostate cancer patients and compared them with a healthy control group. They also analysed the DNA in five of these cytokine genes and found statistically significant differences between the groups.

Prostate cancer kills one man every hour in the UK and is predicted to become the most common cancer in men by 2006.

Professor Gordon McVie, of Cancer Research UK, said the findings would improve understanding of the disease and could lead to more effective treatments. Dr Ros Eeles, of Cancer Research, said: "This is a very exciting advance although we still have a long way to go before we can fully understand this type of cancer."