Scientists at deCODE genetics (Nasdaq:DCGN) along with
academic colleagues in Iceland, the US and Sweden today
report the discovery of a common genetic variant that
predisposes to prostate cancer. The variant was discovered
in Iceland and confirmed in several American and Swedish
cohorts. About 19% of men of European ancestry with
prostate cancer carry at least one copy of the variant,
which confers an approximately 60% increase in risk
of the disease and accounts for approximately 8% of
cases. The variant confers roughly the same increase
in risk among African Americans but is twice as common.
The variant thus accounts for approximately 16% of prostate
cancer among African American men and thereby contributes
to the higher incidence of the disease among African
Americans. The paper is entitled: “A common variant
associated with prostate cancer in European and African
populations.” It is published today in the online edition
of Nature Genetics at www.nature.com/ng, and will appear
in the journal’s June print edition.
“This is one of the first genetic variants ever found
to confer significant risk of a major cancer among the
population in general. Most previously identified cancer
genes have their effect on cancer risk only in families
with a clear family history of cancer, or are only found
mutated in tumors. This discovery is important from
a medical standpoint because the only firmly established
risk factors for the disease until now have been age,
family history and ethnicity. As this variant also appears
to be associated with the development of more aggressive
prostate tumors, a diagnostic test for the variant may
enable doctors to make more informed decisions as to
how closely they should monitor those who are at high
risk, and how aggressively they should treat the disease
once it presents. We plan to use this discovery as the
basis for the development of such a diagnostic test,”
said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE and senior author
on the study.
The variant is located within a putative gene of unknown
function in a region on chromosome 8 known to be one
of the most frequently amplified chromosomal regions
in prostate tumors.
The total number of patient and control samples analyzed
in the study was 3430 and 2675, respectively. Study
groups were drawn from the Icelandic Cancer Registry;
CAPS1, a population-based study of prostate cancer patients
in Sweden; the Prostate Cancer Specialized Program of
Research Excellence (SPORE) at Northwestern University;
and the Flint Men’s Health Study and the Prostate Cancer
Genetics Project, both of the University of Michigan.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous cancer
in men in the industrial world, and is responsible for
more deaths among men than any other cancer except lung
cancer. Prostate cancer develops most frequently in
those over fifty. However many men who develop prostate
cancer never have symptoms, undergo no therapy, and
eventually die of other causes. Whether and how to treat
localized prostate cancer is thus a difficult decision,
and depends largely upon an appraisal of the aggressiveness
of the tumor and the likelihood that the cancer will
spread to other organs.
About deCODE
deCODE genetics (NASDAQ:DCGN) is a global leader in
applying human genetics to develop drugs for common
diseases. Our population approach has enabled us to
discover and target key biological pathways involved
in conditions ranging from heart attack to cancer. We
are turning these discoveries into new medicine to better
treat and prevent many of the biggest challenges to
public health. deCODE is delivering on the promise of
the new genetics.SM Visit us on the web at www.decode.com.
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Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially
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These risks and uncertainties include, among others,
those relating to technology and product development,
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identified in deCODE’s filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. deCODE undertakes no obligation
to update or alter these forward-looking statements
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
