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- Cancer Prevention -
Cancer of the Prostate
Within the last 10 years, the science of genetics has
been progressing very rapidly in all fields of medicine. Very
significant discovery of the genome, made sometime ago, represents a
quality change from one level of knowledge to the other. Unfortunately,
it is frequently misunderstood. So far we can trace only some of the
diseases, which have obviously a genetic bond. Many others still are
outside of our technical capabilities, but rapid progression of the
methodology techniques and better understanding, more and more of these
diseases will be identified and the genetic changes responsible for them
demonstrated. An obvious tie of certain genetic makeup in a particular
family with high incidence of a particular disease will be proven.
Many diseases, inclusive of cancer, might have different etiologies
(reasons for existence). Some of them occur at random, some of them are
passed on by transferring of genetic changes, and some of them are a
combination of both. People who have a given genetic change don’t
necessarily develop the disease every time. On the other hand, those who
are suffering of various types may not have a genetic line of
inheritance, at least not proven yet.
One of those conditions, which have been shown recently to have genetic
background in certain percentage, is a cancer of the prostate. The
researchers and epidemiologists did find that some patients have an
inherited genetic predisposition for development of the cancer of the
prostate. This particular cancer, besides presence or absence of genetic
changes, also has significant difference in the clinical course. Some
patients live practically normal life span after being diagnosed with
prostatic cancer and die at old age of unrelated cause. In some others,
this particular cancer can be very aggressive. Certain percentages of
patients, who eventually end up with cancer of the prostate, have a
genetic line passed on in their families. These patients are
specifically candidates for a Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
procedure. An oocyte can be retrieved from the mother’s ovary,
fertilized with the father’s sperm, and the resulting embryo, examined
for gender. If only female embryos are transferred back into the uterus
of the mother, the danger of developing prostatic cancer is obviously
nonexistent.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) thus can offer to this
particular category of cancer patients a possibility of having a child
who will not suffer from cancer of the prostate. The question, which has
not been answered yet, is if a son of that particular child/daughter
produced through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) will have again higher
incidence of cancer of the prostate. That of course is an issue to be
answered several decades from now and with the rapid advances in
medicine hopefully by that time cures of cancer of the prostate as well
as other cancers might be found and practiced. For this reason, for the
time being, those who have increased risk of developing cancer of the
prostate, should benefit by Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and gender
selection.
Click here for more information on PGD
Click here to learn about other diseases
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Copyright © 2001 Institute
for Reproductive Medicine and Genetic Testing
Last modified:
06/13/02 |
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