Irish scientists in search for more accurate method than PSA test to detect disease, writes RONAN McGREEVY
NEW RESEARCH carried out by Irish scientists could lead to a more effective way of diagnosing prostate cancer, the most common cancer affecting men.
At present, elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) are used to detect the disease at an early stage. However, two-thirds of men with elevated levels of PSA do not have prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is one of the most curable forms of cancer, especially if it is found early and confined to the prostate.
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) scientist Dr Antoinette Perry, who is leading a consortium at St James’s Hospital, has been given a fellowship by the Irish Cancer Society to develop a new process which could be more accurate in detecting the disease.
The team is looking at the process of DNA methylation and microRNAs, where changes in the chemical make-up of the DNA switch off the genes which regulate cell growth.
It is this methylation process that can cause prostate cancer cells to grow and spread throughout the body.
Dr Perry said ways of evaluating DNA methylation and microRNAs through blood or urine “liquid-biopsies” were being examined.
She said the research was important not only for the accurate diagnosis of the disease, but also for distinguishing between indolent, non-aggressive prostate cancer – which is confined to the gland itself – and the much more dangerous aggressive form of the disease.
“The early detection of aggressive prostate cancer is a key priority for the consortium,” said Dr Perry.
“If better biomarkers were available that could identify aggressive tumours at an early stage, it would give the clinician and patient the confidence to implement active surveillance strategies and save the patient from the side effects of unnecessary treatment.”
Dr Perry’s team is carrying out the research with a grant from the Irish Cancer Society of €212,000 over three years.
It is also being funded by the American Prostate Cancer Foundation, a recognition, she said, that Ireland was getting worldwide attention for its research into the disease.
Separately, Prof Caitriona O’Driscoll of the School of Pharmacy at University College, Cork, was recently awarded funding by the Irish Cancer Society to investigate ways to deliver a new class of drugs known as small interfering RNAs to prostate cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.
Prostate cancer affects about 2,500 mostly older Irish men every year and causes 600 deaths.
The Irish Cancer Society has awarded €1.3 million of its €3.1 million in cancer research grants this year for research into the disease.