Having identified a genetic variant linked with aggressive prostate cancer, researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, North Carolina, may soon pave the way for determining at an early stage if the cancer is aggressive or slow-growing - a finding which will help doctors take treatment decisions for the patients affected by the disease.

Noting that genetic information would lay the basis for guiding the treatment process of prostate cancer patients, the researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of the genetic information from 4,849 aggressive prostate cancer patients and 12,205 patients reporting slow cancer growth.

It was found that the likelihood of an aggressive tumor risk were 26 percent more among patients with a genetic variant - rs4054823.

Saying that the analysis substantiates the fact that variants in the genoma have a notable effect in different types of prostate cancer, lead author Dr. Jianfeng Xu added that the identification of the single variant - even with a 'moderate' effect like 26 percent more risk of aggressive prostate cancer - is noteworthy for the reason that it indicates that "variants predisposing men to aggressive disease exist in the genome."

Commenting on the findings, co-author Karim Kader said: "Identifying factors that are associated with a risk of having or developing aggressive disease is urgently needed to reduce over-diagnosis and over-treatment of this common cancer."