Researchers in the US have found that faults in a gene called HOXB13 seem to be more common in men with an inherited form of prostate cancer, and among those who develop the disease at a younger age.
According to the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, men who carry this mutation have a 10 to 20 times higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Although the results need to be fully confirmed in larger studies, this study does open up new avenues of research, and scientists believe that understanding how the gene is involved in prostate cancer may lead to better ways to diagnose and manage the disease.
