deCODE You

deCODEme Prostate Cancer

Last night we announced our discovery of four more SNPs linked to increased risk of prostate cancer. At the same time, academic collagues in the US and UK have also found more SNPs. (See article in TIMES ONLINE) All of the well-validated new risk variants will be incorporated into your deCODEme profile in the days ahead.

In the same study we published yesterday, we also conducted an analysis of all well-validated genetic risk factors discovered to date to establish what percentage of men would be at a significantly higher risk than average using these markers. Based upon our ability to swiftly conduct a population-based analysis in Iceland, this analysis demonstrates that about 4% of men are at more than double average risk based upon these risk factors, while just over 1% are at more than 2.5-times average risk.
Average lifetime risk of prostate cancer in Iceland is very similar to that of other populations of European descent, at about 12%. In light of the above calculations, that means that about 4% of men are at more that 20% lifetime risk based upon currently known risk SNPs, while slightly more than 1% of men are at more than 30% lifetime risk. Other standard measures of risk, such as age, family history, and PSA score, are all independent of the risk measured by common genetic risk factors, and so complement this risk calculation.

All of this is important to bear in mind as you check your own risk profile and consider what this information might mean to your health. Those of us who are deCODEme subscribers may well have wondered what it means when new risk factors are found, incorporated into our risk calculations, and your risk score changes. The answer is that for the vast majority of us, our increased risk of these common diseases is either slightly above or slightly below average. The numbers may change slightly, but this may not have any immediate bearing on how you should try to protect your health. At the same time, because these diseases are common, average risk is rarely insignificant, so we are none of us off the hook.

Yet it is for those in the highest risk categories that your profile may provide information that you can take to your doctor, and with him or her consider other risk factors you may have and evaluate how best to lower that risk or undergo appropriate screening.

As ever, we are eager to hear how you use your profile and how it may be helping you to take more control over your health. For our part, we will continue to integrate the best in genetics into your profile.

With best regards,
Edward Farmer
The deCODEme Team