Inherited Predisposition to Prostate Cancer

Relatively little is known about the causes of prostate cancer but there is strong evidence to suggest that inherited genetic factors can increase a man’s risk of developing the disease. Studies have shown that the relative risk (RR) of prostate cancer rises the younger the age of the proband, as the number of cases in a family cluster increases, with a decrease in the average age of onset of cases in a cluster, and with a combination of these factors. This increase is too great to be explained by non-genetic factors alone.

Unlike other common cancers - e.g. breast, colon and ovary - where a few high-risk genes account for a proportion of families with an inherited predisposition, it is thought that many prostate cancer predisposition genes may exist, each of which account for a proportion of cases of familial prostate cancer.

Several candidate prostate cancer predisposition genes have been reported in the academic literature, but the evidence surrounding each one is inconclusive. There is, however, a recognised association between breast cancer and prostate cancer in families. The breast cancer predisposition genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, have been reported to increase prostate cancer risk in male carriers by three-fold and seven-fold respectively, although there is still a large amount of uncertainty surrounding the relative risk (RR) associated with these genes. Recent studies have suggested that the risk for male carriers of the BRCA1 mutations may be lower than estimated, and that BRCA2 mutation carriers may have a significantly higher RR (23-fold at age 60) than previously reported.

It has also been suggested that male carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations may be at higher risk of developing clinically significant prostate cancer, and BRCA2 has been linked to more aggressive (fast growing) forms of the disease. More information about the link between the breast cancer predisposition genes and prostate cancer is available in the BRCA1/2 section of this website.

In some international populations there have been reports that alterations within specific genes such as CHEK2, NBS1 and ATM can also predispose to the disease. Researchers are currently following these leads in other populations, to determine if these genes do confer an increased risk in other countries. Although at the moment IMPACT is only recruiting carriers of alterations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, in some countries carriers of other gene alterations may be included as further information about these alterations becomes available.

Next Section >> BRCA1 and BRCA2

Română  | български  | Français  | Polski  | Deutsch  | Magyar  | Türkçe