In 2008, nearly 215,000 men in the U.S. were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 28,000 died from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That makes it the second most common cause of cancer death in men (after lung cancer), but it is often difficult to accurately determine what if any treatment is the best option.
Now the results of two new studies published in The Lancet Oncology aim to assist doctors in predicting whether patients have an aggressive prostate cancer also known as castration-resistant prostate cancer or a milder form of the disease. The first study, led by researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, analyzed prostate cancer patients genetic make-up using a simple blood test. The results showed that men with a distinctive nine-gene pattern had a more aggressive form of the cancer and survived for an average of 9.2 months after referral for treatment, compared to 21.6 months among those who did not test positive for the gene signature.
In the second study, led by Dr. William Oh at the Tisch Cancer Institute of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, researchers identified a different six-gene pattern characteristic of a more aggressive form of prostate cancer as well. Among the 62 patients whose blood was tested, those with the distinct gene signature had a median survival time of 7.8 months, compared to 34.9 months among those men who tested negative.
Given the wide variation in biological behavior of prostate cancers, having a simple test to enhance our prognostic acumen is a major advance, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. And these genetic patterns were obtained from simple blood tests, no tissue or biopsy was needed. Of course, these are both small studies and must be replicated in larger trials to become accepted in clinical practice.
