Gene mutation slashes prostate cancer survival time

A gene mutation can radically alter the chances of survival for men with prostate cancer, new research has found.Men who carry a mutated form of the BRCA2 gene seem to succumb to this type of cancer a decade earlier than those with a most common version of the gene.Experts say that screening for the BRCA2 gene mutation - which is better known for raising the risk of breast cancer - could improve the outcome of prostate tumour treatment.Our knowledge of BRCA2 dates back to 1995, when researchers first identified this gene and began to understand its effect on breast cancer. Women with mutations in either BRCA2 or the related BRCA1 gene face up to a seven-fold increase in the risk of breast cancer.In recent years, scientists have started to piece together how BRCA2 mutations also influence men's health.Doubled risk...