By IANS
London : British scientists have identified seven new genes that they claim to be associated with prostate cancer – one of the most common types of cancer generally found in 80 percent of men who reach the age of 80.
Cancer in the prostate – a gland in the male reproductive system – begins to grow uncontrollably, but has a cure rate of over 90 percent when diagnosed and treated early.
Researchers led by Ros Eeles at the Institute of Cancer Research analysed the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of 10,000 individuals and found the new genes were present in over half of all prostate cancer cases, the online edition of BBC News reported.
DNA contains the genetic instruction of a person. The scientists said the seven new genes they found had not previously been linked to prostate cancer.
Eeles said their research could be very helpful and a potential target for new treatments.
“This discovery may mean that we can target screening for prostate cancer – a process that has been very controversial due to over diagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer – to groups of men that we know to have higher risk of developing the disease,” he said.