SCIENTISTS say they have made an important discovery which could pave the way for new prostate cancer treatments. They have found that male hormones play a key role in promoting a specific genetic change that fuels the growth of tumours. Identifying the genes that are regulated by these hormones is a major step forward in finding new therapies for the disease, which kills one man every hour in the UK. The study focused on androgen hormones and their influence on fusing together genes. These mutant genes, which have been found in several cancers, form when DNA from different parts of the genetic region of cells merge. Exposure to androgens can cause genes that are normally far apart to fuse together. In the latest study, a team led by experts at the Institute of Cancer at Queen Mary University of London found that androgen promotes the fusion of two specific genes which fuel the growth of cancer. They wrote: The TMPRSS2:ERG fusion, detected in approximately 50% of prostate cancers, is the most common fusion gene found in human malignancies. GN The work, published in the journal Cancer Research, was funded by the male cancer charity Orchid and the Medical Research Council. Lead researcher Dr Yong-Jie Lu, from the Institute of Cancer, said: This is a significant discovery and a major breakthrough in the future prevention of the disease. It could also lead to new treatments. GN