Nine out of 10 cases of late stage
prostate cancer can now be linked to changes in the DNA of sufferers,
the Institute of Cancer Research in London, the United Kingdom, has
said.
Thousands of men suffering from advanced
prostate cancer have been offered new hope of a cure after scientists
discovered the genetic cause behind 90 per cent of tumours.
And, in some cases, there are already drugs which can tackle those genetic defects which are being used for other cancers.
Scientists said the breakthrough was
like uncovering the ‘Rosetta Stone’ for prostate cancer, in reference to
the stone tablet which helped Egyptologists break the code of
hieroglyphics. The research was hailed by charities as ‘incredibly
exciting.’
The study was led in the UK by
scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research in collaboration with
researchers from eight academic clinical trials centres around the
world.
Continue reading after the cut....
Continue reading after the cut....
Researchers say that doctors could now
start testing for the mutations and give patients with advanced prostate
cancer existing drugs or drug combinations which are known to target
the specific genomic aberrations.
“Our study shines new light on the
genetic complexity of prostate cancer as it develops and spreads,
revealing it to be not a single disease, but many diseases each driven
by their own set of mutations,” said Johann de Bono, Professor of
Experimental Cancer Medicine at The Institute of Cancer Research,
London, and Consultant at The Royal Marsden in London.
”We’re describing this study as
prostate cancer’s Rosetta Stone – because of the ability it gives us to
decode the complexity of the disease, and to translate the results into
personalised treatment plans for patients.
“What’s hugely encouraging is that many
of the key mutations we have identified are ones targeted by existing
cancer drugs – meaning that we could be entering a new era of
personalised cancer treatment.”
Nearly 50,000 men are diagnosed with
prostate cancer each year in the UK and more than 10,000 will die from
the disease when it moves into its advanced stage and begins spreading
through the body. The new breakthrough offers new hope to thousands of
men.
Doctors from the Royal Marsden and
hospitals in the US studied the genetic make-up of 150 tumours from
patients with advanced prostate cancer who have a slim chance of
survival.
Nearly two thirds of the men in the
study had mutations in a molecule that interacts with the male hormone
androgen which can already be targeted by current drugs.
Around 20 per cent of patients also had
mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes which are known to raise the risk
of breast and ovarian cancer. Signficantly there are already drugs
which are effective at targeting those mutations.
The researchers also found for the first
time that some people are born with genes which predispose them to
prostate cancer, meaning that screening programmes could be effective at
preventing the disease.
Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive
and President of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “ This
major new study opens up the black box of metastatic cancer, and has
found inside a wealth of genetic information that I believe will change
the way we think about and treat advanced disease.
“These findings could make a real difference to large numbers of patients.”
In the next phase of the study,
researchers will genetically sequence tumor cells from at least 500
patients and follow the course of their disease to see how they respond
to personalized treaments.
Charities described the work as
groundbreaking and said it was particularly exciting because changes to
treatment could happen almost immediately.
Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at
Prostate Cancer UK said: “This is incredibly exciting and ground
breaking research. It suggests for the first time the list of genetic
mutations to search for in order to build up a blueprint of a man’s
prostate cancer once it has spread.
“What’s more is that many of the genetic changes they have identified could potentially be targeted by existing drugs.
“The next step is to confirm whether
those drugs would have the same impact if used to target those mutations
when found in prostate cancer.”
The research was published in the journal Cell.
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