Early puberty genes could be linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer in later life, British researchers reported yesterday.
A large study funded by World Cancer Research Fund found that measuring sexual maturation provides a possible causal link between reaching puberty early and an increased risk of prostate cancer.
Writing in BMC Medicine, the authors say that the link could be due to the effect of early and prolonged increased levels of growth hormones which are altered with puberty.
Dr Panagiota Mitrou, director of research funding at World Cancer Research Fund, said: “These results are very exciting as they show evidence of life course influences on prostate cancer risk including the aggressive form of the disease.
“We now need to better understand the findings. If growth factor hormones are shown to be the driving force behind age of puberty and prostate cancer risk and progression, they could help us develop dietary interventions to promote healthy growth and hence protect against prostate cancer in adulthood.
“There are however other ways that men can help reduce their prostate cancer risk, such as maintaining a healthy weight.”
Professor David Neal, study principal investigator at the University of Cambridge, UK, said prevention of prostate cancer is key to helping reduce the numbers of men who develop it.
“The research is particularly interesting because it has demonstrated a new way to look at risk factors which allows more potential cause and effect relationships to be established,” he added.
Bonilla C, Lewis S et al. Pubertal development and prostate cancer risk: Mendelian randomization study in a population-based cohort. BMC Medicine. April 2016. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-016-0602-x [abstract]
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