Research shows genetic variations of breast, prostate or ovarian cancer

More than 80 regions of the genome that can increase a person's risk of breast, prostate and ovarian cancer have been discovered in a new study.

The quantitative analysis, which was carried out by the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Cancer Research in London, was funded by Cancer Research UK and the Wellcome Trust and could lead to new treatments, screenings and a better understanding of how diseases develop.

By looking at the DNA make up of more than 100,000 people with cancer and 100,000 people from the general population, the researchers found alterations that were more common in people with prostate, breast or ovarian cancers.

Study author Professor Doug Easton, a Cancer Research UK scientist at the University of Cambridge, said: "We’re on the verge of being able to use our knowledge of these genetic variations to develop tests that could complement breast cancer screening and take us a step closer to having an effective prostate cancer screening programme.

"By looking for people who carry most of these variations we will be able to identify those who are at the greatest risk of getting these cancers and then targeting screening tests to these individuals."

Many areas of the SNPs found in the studies were close to areas of the genome that control how particular genes behave, and changes to these can cause brakes that stop cells growing out of control being lifted or help cells grow quickly out of control.

Professor Ros Eeles, professor of oncogenetics at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), said: "They allow us, for the first time, to identify men who have a very high risk of developing prostate cancer during their lifetime through inheritance of multiple risk genetic variants. If we can show from further studies that such men benefit from regular screening, we could have a big impact on the number of people dying from the disease, which is still far too high

Posted by Ben Evans