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A liquid biopsy test outperforms current methods to predict the severity of prostate cancer.
Posted On: August 22, 2016
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Urine is easy to obtain, making it the ideal liquid biopsy sample with which to develop clinical tests.
Although the rate of prostate cancer is on the rise, many men with the disease have tumours that grow slowly and are not immediately threatening. Distinguishing these tumours from those that are aggressive remains a challenge.
Currently, clinicians collect several measurements to classify prostate tumours. The techniques to collect these measurements may be invasive; for example, biopsies of prostate tissue might be taken repeatedly from a patient. Ideally, a non-invasive test to classify tumours would spare those with slow-growing cancer from unnecessary procedures.
PM Senior Scientist Drs. Thomas Kislinger, Paul Boutros (Ontario Institute for Cancer Research) and O. John Semmes (Eastern Virginia Medical School) initiated a study to address this issue. Their research teams examined urine samples from men who had undergone digital rectal examination, a routine surveillance method for prostate health. They measured the levels of hundreds of proteins in the urine samples using complex analytical and computational techniques, and found 34 proteins that could be used to diagnose or predict the outcome of prostate cancer.
Of these proteins, a panel of seven could accurately predict which patients had tumours that were confined to the prostate and which had tumours that were beginning to spread, indicating a greater degree of aggressiveness. Importantly, the predictive capability of the test outperformed current tests, which analyze the levels of a marker called PSA in the blood.
“Our new test is able to identify aggressive prostate tumours with minimal patient discomfort,” explains Dr. Kislinger. “Once validated in larger populations, it will better inform the customization of treatment plans by clinicians and patients.”
This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Terry Fox Research Institute, Prostate Cancer Canada and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. T Kislinger is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Proteomics in Cancer Research, and A Gramolini is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Proteomics and Molecular Therapeutics.
Targeted proteomics identifies liquid-biopsy signatures for extracapsular prostate cancer. Kim Y, Jeon J, Mejia S, Yao CQ, Ignatchenko V, Nyalwidhe JO, Gramolini AO, Lance RS, Troyer DA, Drake RR, Boutros PC, Semmes OJ, Kislinger T. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11906. 2016 Jun 28. [Pubmed abstract]
Currently, clinicians collect several measurements to classify prostate tumours. The techniques to collect these measurements may be invasive; for example, biopsies of prostate tissue might be taken repeatedly from a patient. Ideally, a non-invasive test to classify tumours would spare those with slow-growing cancer from unnecessary procedures.
PM Senior Scientist Drs. Thomas Kislinger, Paul Boutros (Ontario Institute for Cancer Research) and O. John Semmes (Eastern Virginia Medical School) initiated a study to address this issue. Their research teams examined urine samples from men who had undergone digital rectal examination, a routine surveillance method for prostate health. They measured the levels of hundreds of proteins in the urine samples using complex analytical and computational techniques, and found 34 proteins that could be used to diagnose or predict the outcome of prostate cancer.
Of these proteins, a panel of seven could accurately predict which patients had tumours that were confined to the prostate and which had tumours that were beginning to spread, indicating a greater degree of aggressiveness. Importantly, the predictive capability of the test outperformed current tests, which analyze the levels of a marker called PSA in the blood.
“Our new test is able to identify aggressive prostate tumours with minimal patient discomfort,” explains Dr. Kislinger. “Once validated in larger populations, it will better inform the customization of treatment plans by clinicians and patients.”
This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Terry Fox Research Institute, Prostate Cancer Canada and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. T Kislinger is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Proteomics in Cancer Research, and A Gramolini is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Proteomics and Molecular Therapeutics.
Targeted proteomics identifies liquid-biopsy signatures for extracapsular prostate cancer. Kim Y, Jeon J, Mejia S, Yao CQ, Ignatchenko V, Nyalwidhe JO, Gramolini AO, Lance RS, Troyer DA, Drake RR, Boutros PC, Semmes OJ, Kislinger T. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11906. 2016 Jun 28. [Pubmed abstract]