What Are We Finding? Many of you have asked what we are finding in all the blood samples and family data you have provided. It is a good question, and a question to which we wish we could offer a simple answer. Unfortunately, we have not found a "magic bullet" for prostate cancer, but we are narrowing the search for the genes. It is likely that there are several genes involved in developing prostate cancer. To date, four areas on the human genome have been identified as possible locations for prostate cancer susceptibility genes. We are using your DNA samples and family history information to investigate these areas and are continuing to search for new regions of interest. In 1996, a group at Johns Hopkins University identified the first region associated with hereditary prostate cancer, called HPC1. Based on results from the PROGRESS families and results from several similar studies being conducted around the country, it appears that a gene located within the HPC1 region may account for only a small subset of families with prostate cancer. Our first analysis of HPC1, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, found very little evidence that this region is important in PROGRESS families. A second analysis, using data from three times as many families, is currently in publication (in the journal Genetic Epidemiology) but still our data do not provide evidence that this locus is very important in PROGRESS families. The second prostate cancer region identified, PCAP, was identified by a group of French researchers in 1997. We have looked at this region in the PROGRESS families and find it does not account for more than a small subset of hereditary prostate cancer in our group of families. Our results about this region were published in the American Journal of Human Genetics (v.64, 1087-1095, 1999). The third prostate cancer susceptibility region was described in detail in our last newsletter and was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics (v.64, 776-787, 1999). This is called the CAPB locus, which may be important in families with a history of both prostate cancer and brain cancer. No other groups have yet published data to confirm or refute this finding. The PROGRESS team is hoping to collaborate on further analyses of this region with the groups participating in the international consortium (see article in this newsletter about the ICPCG). The most recent region identified by the group at Johns Hopkins University is called HPCX and is located on the X chromosome. Because the X chromosome is passed from mother to son, this is the first prostate cancer region identified in which only a woman may pass on the disease gene to her sons. We are currently finishing the analysis of the region in the PROGRESS families and our tentative results indicate this region may account for only a small proportion of families in our study. We hope to publish our results soon, and will let you know when the paper is available. So far, none of the four regions identified for hereditary prostate cancer have accounted for a large proportion of the prostate cancer in PROGRESS families. We know there are other genes to be discovered and we are continuing to search using the blood samples you have provided. We are systematically looking at your DNA samples and are almost halfway through the analysis of these data. Using this "genome screen" technique, we hope to provide more answers about prostate cancer in the future. Based on our preliminary data, we have new clues as to where other prostate cancer susceptibility genes may be located and are following up on these regions. If you would like to read any of our published papers, please call our toll- free number and we will gladly send you a reprint of the article. Also, for more background information about the laboratory science behind our project, please see the article in the Spring/Summer 1998 edition of the PROGRESS Report newsletter. If you are missing any of our newsletters, they are available on our web site or by calling our toll-free number, 1-800-777-3035.