MEN with certain gene mutations may have a higher risk of suffering from erectile dysfunction after receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer than other patients, say US scientists.Though far from clinical use now, genetic analysis may one day play a role in personalising treatment for prostate cancer patients, the researchers say."We believe there are genetic factors that make patients more likely to develop complications from treatment," says lead researcher Dr Barry Rosenstein, from the department of radiation oncology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Erectile dysfunction, or impotence, is a common side effect of radiation therapy, he says.Urinary problems and rectal bleeding also can arise from radiation therapy, he says."In this paper, we found 12 markers we feel are strongly associated with developing erectile dysfunction, but also we found a similar number of other markers associated with urinary problems and rectal bleeding," Rosenstein says.The goal...
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