Normal-looking tissue next to tumors in men showed more loss of the Y chromosome than normal tissue from men without cancer, according to a new analysis of 1,000 tissue samples from 405 men. The researchers say the pattern could one day help flag early cancer, but the study is preliminary, relies on archived samples, and shows an association rather than proof that Y chromosome loss causes cancer.
The findings, published on Sept. 8 in JCI Insight, come from a team led by senior author Dr. Dan Theodorescu, director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson. Collaborators included scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington in Seattle, and the University of California, San Francisco.
