Genetic Test Identifies Patients at Highest Risk for Prostate Cancer Recurrence

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

According to new findings published in the journal Lancet Oncology, researchers at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, have designed a genetic test that can determine which men are at the highest risk for developing prostate cancer recurrence following localized surgery or radiotherapy.

The test works by analyzing pre-treatment biopsy tissue to identify abnormal DNA of the cancer and its oxygen content. It is well known that hypoxia promotes the spread of prostate cancer. Using both factors, the test can determine in 3 days with nearly 80% accuracy which patients with prostate cancer have the highest risk for disease recurrence. The researchers studied the test in two groups of patients.

The first group of men were treated with image-guided radiotherapy and were followed for 7.8 years, on average. The second group underwent radical prostatectomies. Results were similar in both groups. They found that men who had low levels of genetic alterations and low hypoxia had less than a 7% recurrence rate at 5 years.

Men with high levels of genetic mutations and high hypoxia had greater than a 50% recurrence rate at 5 years. The test will help determine who will need chemotherapy or hormone therapy in addition to radiotherapy or surgery.