LONDON - Scientists have discovered a gene that could be an early warning sign of deadly prostate cancer and help doctors to identify men who need aggressive treatment.

They discovered that high levels of a protein produced by a gene called EZH2 are more common in metastatic prostate cancer, which has spread beyond the gland, than in a less serious form of the disease.

The scientists, from the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Centre, do not know if the gene plays a role in cancer's development or is simply an indicator of a fast-growing cancer.

They believe it could form the basis of a prognostic test that could reduce deaths from the disease by detecting men with the most lethal type of cancer.


- REUTERS

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