But if you have four of these variants your risk is increased fourfold which is something we have never seen before he said. The five genetic locations include three on chromosome q one on chromosome q and one on chromosome q. There are five genetic variants that have been shown to be associated with prostate cancer risk said lead researcher dr. In thenew england journal of medicine. Xu thinks that by using these gene variants and family history as a guide we can use this information to predict which men have a risk of developing prostate cancer. For a man with five gene variants and a family history the risk is increased tenfold.