Scientists: Gene Tests May Reveal Which Cancer Patients Need Surgery
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A new genetic pattern could identify which prostate cancer patients need to have surgery, Sky News reported.
Men with high levels of certain genes are three times more likely to have a fatal form of the disease than those with the lowest levels, according to the research.
Scientists at the charity Cancer Research U.K. now hope to develop a gene screening test.
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Men with aggressive cancers could then choose to run the risk of side effects from the operation, which include impotence and incontinence.
Those with slow-growing cancers could safely forgo surgery.
"Our findings have great potential. It's really encouraging that this could be applied to prostate cancer, where we desperately need a way to predict how aggressive the disease will be," said Professor Jack Cuzick from Queen Mary University of London.
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The study, reported in the medical journal Lancet Oncology, looked at 703 men with prostate cancer.