Testicular cancer genetic advance

Researchers have for the first time found inherited genetic factors which raise the risk of testicular cancer.

A UK team found many testicular cancer patients shared common DNA variants on chromosomes five, six and 12 that healthy men did not have.

This finding was echoed in a separate US study in the same journal, Nature Genetics, which highlighted two of the same variations.

Both studies raise hopes of better treatments and diagnostic tests.

The UK team, from the Institute of Cancer Research, compared the profile of 730 testicular cancer patients with those of healthy men.

They found men who inherit any of the three genetic variants have a raised risk of the disease.

Those who carry the variant most closely linked to the disease have two to three times the risk of the general population.

And inheriting all three variants raises the risk by up to fourfold.

However, it is still the case that only a small proportion of men who carry the higher risk variations will actually develop testicular cancer.

Researcher Dr Elizabeth Rapley said: "We have known for some time that men whose father, brothers or sons had testicular cancer are much more likely to get it themselves and we have been searching for this genetic link. Read more...