Genetic code of prostate cancer mapped

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've mapped the genetic code of prostate cancer in a "transforming moment" in the study of the disease.

Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard say the effort has uncovered many of the mutations and genetic damage that drive prostate cancer and could lead to new treatments and better diagnosis, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported this week.

"This is a transforming moment in understanding the underlying biology of prostate cancer," lead study author Dr. Mike Berger said.

"It offers the potential of new targets for treatment and earlier diagnosis of the more aggressive strains of the disease."

Berger and colleagues sequenced the genomes of seven different prostate cancer tumors and compared them to healthy tissues to identify damage and mutations.

Most of these alterations to the normal genome are known as "passengers" and cause damage but not cancer, researchers say, but a small number are called "drivers" and can lead to the disease.

The researchers say that by continued sequencing of more prostate patients they hope to identify a handful of "driver" alterations that can be targeted with treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.