New Study Reveals New Genes Linked to Aggressive Prostate Cancer
Researchers have conducted the largest study of its kind to identify genetic alterations associated with aggressive types of prostate cancer. The study, published in JAMA Oncology, discovered associations between aggressive prostate cancer and deleterious genetic alterations in 11 DNA repair pathway and cancer susceptibility genes. These findings could potentially impact the future of genetic testing panels for men with prostate cancer.
The current commercially available prostate cancer gene panels include only a limited number of DNA repair pathway and cancer susceptibility genes. However, this study has identified associations with additional genes not currently included on these panels, while also identifying genes on current panels that are not associated with aggressive prostate cancer.
Dr. Chris Haiman, co-leader of the cancer epidemiology research program at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, emphasized the need for panels to be based on strong evidence to avoid treating men based on non-relevant pathogenic variants. The researchers conducted a two-stage exome-sequencing genetic association study, analyzing data from 17,546 men of European ancestry. They identified 11 genes associated with aggressive prostate cancer, with 2.3% of patients with nonaggressive disease, 5.6% with aggressive disease, and 7% with metastatic prostate cancer harboring deleterious variants of these genes.
The study has some limitations in terms of statistical power, but its results have the potential to significantly impact clinical practice. If additional genes are validated in larger studies and subsequently added to gene panel tests, the data suggests that testing could be expanded to men without aggressive prostate cancer who are at risk for disease progression if they carry a pathogenic variant.
Dr. Alexander W. Wyatt, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, believes that the study provides valuable evidence for the development of next-generation genetic tests for prostate cancer. However, he acknowledges that further research is needed to define associations with rarely altered genes and explore genes with small effect sizes.
The results of this breakthrough study contribute to our understanding of the genetic factors associated with aggressive prostate cancer. Moving forward, future studies will help determine if these newly identified genes should be included in testing panels, potentially leading to more accurate and targeted approaches in diagnosing and treating prostate cancer.
Read the original article published in JAMA Oncology for more details.
