Heart Disease Gene Linked To Prostate Cancer

Gene Mutation May Cause Lesions Common In Prostate Cancer

What do heart disease and prostate cancer have in common? According to researchers, one gene may provide clues to both diseases.

The findings offer new evidence that at least some cases of prostate cancer may begin with an infection and inflammatory response. The study, conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Wake Forest universities, along with the National Human Genome Research Institute, is published in Monday's online issue of Nature Genetics.

The gene, called macrophage scavenger receptor-1, or MSR1, was identified more than 20 years ago as a factor in hardening of the arteries. The gene helps immune system cells called macrophages clean up cellular debris from bacterial infections and damaged fats or lipids. The researchers suspected that some mutations of the gene might inhibit the ability of macrophages to clean up properly after prostate infections, producing inflammatory lesions that are often markers of prostate cancer.

In the study, reseasrchers found that MSR1 gene mutations were about seven times more common in men with prostate cancer than in those without.

This is the first time that MSR1 has been linked to cancer, said William B. Isaacs, professor of urology and oncology at the Brady Urological Institute and Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.

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