Case Studies
Advancing prostate cancer diagnostics
TRI-based researchers from QUT have uncovered critical insights into prostate cancer, by looking at how genetic variants can be used to distinguish between aggressive and non-aggressive tumours.
They are using the information to identify new therapeutic targets, and developing a point of care diagnostic tool to help distinguish between high and low-risk patients and the level of treatment required.
Key points
- Current prostate cancer testing often results in over-treatment and misses aggressive cancers due to its inability to detect severity.
- QUT Professor Jyotsna Batra is leading TRI-based researchers in identifying genetic markers to distinguish prostate tumour aggressiveness, with the aim of developing targeted diagnostics and treatments.
- A point-of-care tool is also being developed to identify prostate cancer risk levels in patients, aiming to reduce invasive procedures and healthcare costs.
Limitations with current testing
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men world-wide.
Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the basis of non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic tests for prostate cancer. While recent studies show that PSA testing helps save lives, other studies show the test can lead to over-diagnosis coupled with over-treatment. This means men can undergo painful procedures such as biopsies for accurate diagnosis, impacting their quality of life and incurring unnecessary costs to the health system.
Furthermore, the PSA test is unable to identify aggressive versus non-aggressive types of cancer, meaning tumours which exhibit low levels of PSA in the blood can be missed during early screening, leading to highly aggressive disease with high mortality.
First point-of-care test of its kind
Men harbouring genetic variations in the gene which codes for PSA could be predisposed to aggressive prostate cancer. Harnessing this information, Professor Batra and her research team are involved in collaborations to develop a point-of-care tool. It could be used within the GP setting to identify high and low-risk patients.
Professor Batra said if the tool proved successful, it could become the first point-of-care device of its kind.
“This device could help identify high risk patients, help reduce the number of men requiring invasive investigation and reduce healthcare costs,” she said.
“It is an important step forward in an era of personalised treatment because it can provide an individualised diagnostic assessment that can be a guide for more appropriate clinical care.”
Both projects are part of Professor Batra’s focus on unravelling the genetic intricacies of hereditary disorders using bioinformatics and experimental approaches. Her research group aims to better understand prostate cancer genetics, detect the disease earlier and treat it more successfully.
Publication
Srinivasan, S., Kryza, T., Bock, N. et al. A PSA SNP associates with cellular function and clinical outcome in men with prostate cancer. Nat Commun 15, 9587 (2024). DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52472-6
