Gene discovery may help detect those at risk of aggressive prostate cancer
In a major breakthrough, Melbourne researchers believe their latest discovery on genes linked to aggressive forms of prostate cancer could one day lead to early detection.
Victoria
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Melbourne researchers have discovered three genes linked to aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
The breakthrough has raised hopes of a test to identify men who are most at risk of the disease and shed some light on the behaviour of a disease that kills about 60 Australian men a week.
“If we identify those men who are more likely to develop the aggressive form of the disease we can identify those who will require urgent treatment,” Dr Tu Nguyen-Dumont, of the Monash School of Clinical Sciences, said.
“We don’t know much about what makes a prostate cancer develop into a much more aggressive form of the disease.”
Researchers from Monash University’s Precision Medicine group and Cancer Council Victoria used genetic sequencing to screen thousands of men with prostate cancer and men who were cancer-free. It revealed genetic alterations in three key genes were linked to men who had a strong family history of the cancer.
Dr Nguyen-Dumont said there was still no test that could conclusively detect if prostate cancer was likely to develop.
But the latest results brought such a test — including predictions about the severity of prostate cancer — a step closer.
“By collaborating worldwide and pooling our resources we are now in a position where the results are more significant,’’ Dr Nguyen-Dumont said.
“We are getting close to that level where clinicians will consider the information provided as really robust and can use it in clinics — and to test family members to find if they are at risk of prostate cancer.”
That information could help mitigate or even prevent the disease, she said.
The next step would be to understand all the mutations of genes and be able to explain the implications for a patients health, she said.
Dr Nguyen-Dumont said cancer survivors had told her they wanted to understand what had happened to them, especially when it affected their families.
“If you see several people in a family developing cancer, it is important to understand what mutation is causing this cancer,’’ she said.
“I want to be able to help these families in that way.”
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