Breast and Ovarian Cancer gene linked to Prostate Cancer

Men who have strong occurrence of breast and ovarian cancer have been found to have a higher risk of developing Prostate Cancer according to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition of Australia. The most aggressive genes responsible for the diseases in women will get a higher risk of contracting it for the link between the BRCA2 gene and its manifestation in males of the same bloodline has long been suspected but till now no direct link has been established. This new study has determined that the occurrence of the gene in males from families with women who have had the diseases do get prostate cancer than those with no family history of the disease. Current tests such as Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) have the ability to detect both benign and malignant form of the disease, the earlier being of no serious threat to the health of the individual.

“Men can have prostate cancer and it won’t cause a problem, or they can have prostate cancer and it will kill them,” Dr Suthers said. “We have tests, but they don’t distinguish between those two types. It may well be that the men with the BRCA2 gene have a more malignant type … If that’s confirmed in the next few years, it may mean there’s sufficient information to say that although PSA screening for the general population is not recommended, screening for men with the BRCA2 mutation may be warranted.”