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leading cause of cancer death in men. It is now possible to conduct analysis for early detection of prostate tumors. But the method available called Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA in its acronym in English, is done with blood tests and has a wide margin of error. These results must be confirmed with a biopsy, a painful and invasive procedure whose side effects can be impotence or infections. That's why, in many cases, a biopsy is only recommended for men with a family history of disease. It is believed that although between 10 and 15% of men show PSA levels high enough to require a biopsy, only 2 to 3% will need treatment. Current tests are not precise and require subjecting the patient to a biopsy. "We have long been known that prostate cancer is hereditary," he told the BBC Dr Ros Eeles, who led the study at the Institute of Cancer Research in London. "Therefore there is no evidence that the genetic alterations that predispose an individual to develop the disease." This genetic predisposition with many types of cancer. But now scientists were able to identify seven areas of the genome that undergo an alternation to increase the risk of prostate cancer. The scientists analyzed more than half a million variations in the DNA of men in the United Kingdom and Australia. They found seven genes that, say, had not been previously associated with prostate cancer. "These results enable us to bring out" genetic profiles "for assessing the likelihood that men have to develop the disease," says Dr. Eeles. The genetic profile of the patient requires to extract DNA and analyze it to see if you have genetic variations that put him at risk of prostate tumors. It would also help doctors more accurately detect whether the patient requires more regular monitoring or a biopsy. Treatments Although the genetic profile would require simple, extract a DNA sample, and cheap, the researchers say that still need to perform further studies to offer proof to the general public. These results allow us to carry out "genetic profiles" for assessing the likelihood that men have of developing the disease Dr Ros Eeles But perhaps soon to happen is the development of more specific drugs for this disease. "Another thing that emerged during the investigation," says Dr. Eeles, was one of the changes that are occurring in a gene that produces a protein that can be detected in the blood. " This gene called MSMB, could be particularly useful in the analysis or control of disease progression. Another of the genes detected, the LMTK2, could help develop new treatments. "There could be drugs that directly attack this genetic alteration" explains Ros Eeles. In fact already occurring drugs that are capable of attacking specific genetic alterations, for example, in melanoma. This approach shortens the time that elapses from the discovery of a genetic disorder, specific drug development to clinical trials. "This finding, says Dr. Eeles, enable us to accelerate drug development." "And instead of 5 or 10 years normally required in the pharmaceutical industry, this new approach will give us a specific drug in one or two years."