Nearly 12% of men with advanced prostate cancer have inherited mutations in genes that play a role in repairing damaged DNA, according to a new study. Inherited mutations in DNA-repair genesincluding BRCA2, ATM, and CHEK2are associated with an increased risk of several other cancers, including breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer.
This finding offers a new window into understanding how metastatic prostate cancers develop, said Peter Nelson, M.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who co-led the study.
Reporting their results in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 6, the researchers noted that, in the future, men who have prostate cancer with these inherited mutations may be candidates for particular treatments, such as drugs that target molecular changes associated with defects in DNA repair.
Inherited Mutations in DNA-Repair Genes Found in Advanced Prostate Cancers
