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Prostate cancer

The importance of the mitochondrial genome

Nature Reviews Urology volume 14, page 701 (2017)Cite this article

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An analysis of the mitochondrial genome of patients with prostate cancer shows that mutations in mitochondrial DNA are frequent and associate with nuclear DNA mutations. In addition, mitochondrial mutations were shown to correlate with risk of biochemical relapse after definitive treatment.

“Much attention has been given to the nuclear genome of patients with localized or metastatic prostate cancer, which led to identification of drug candidates and biomarkers,” Paul Boutros, senior author of the study, told Nature Reviews Urology. “By contrast, the mitochondrial genome has not been well studied. We wanted to understand whether mutations in the mitochondrial genome might explain some of the differences in patient survival we see in the clinic.”

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References

  1. Hopkins, J. F. et al. Mitochondrial mutations drive prostate cancer aggression. Nat. Commun. 8, 656 (2017)

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  1. Clemens Thoma
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Thoma, C. The importance of the mitochondrial genome. Nat Rev Urol 14, 701 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2017.174

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