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NEW RESEARCH

Cancer and genes

There is strong evidence that certain men’s genes predispose them to prostate cancer. This has lead to the development of a EU-wide targeted screening study (The IMPACT Study - Identification of Men with a genetic predisposition to Prostate cancer and their Clinical Treatment), involving 18 countries.

Prostate cancer genetic code mapped

In February 2011, scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University announced that they had mapped the genetic code of prostate cancer. By sequencing the genomes of seven different tumours and comparing them to healthy tissue they believe they have uncovered the mutations and genetic damage that drive prostate cancer. “This is a transforming moment in understanding the underlying biology of prostate cancer,” said Dr. Mike Berger, the lead author of the study.

The UK Genetic Prostate Cancer Study collects blood DNA samples from over 300 centres in the UK and is the leading effort to find genetic variants which increase prostate cancer risk. So far they have collected nearly 10,000 samples and 21,000 are needed to be able to find all the relevant genetic variants. This study will last about another 7 years. It has make considerable advances in discovering genetic variants which have led to targeted treatments (genetic variations in breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are also associated with prostate cancer and can be treated with targeted drugs called PARP inhibitors).

Donations can be made to this project by Prostate Action

Tumour-causing genes fused by male hormones

Scientists at the Institute of Cancer at Queen Mary University of London have found that male hormones play a key role in promoting a specific genetic change that fuels the growth of tumours. Identifying the genes that are regulated by these hormones is a major step forward in finding new therapies for the disease. The study focused on male sex hormones called androgens which cause genes that are normally far apart to fuse together. The team found that androgens promote the fusion of two specific genes, TMPRSS2 and ERG, which fuel the growth of cancer. Dr Yong-Jie Lu, the lead researcher from the Institute of Cancer, said: "This is a significant discovery and a major breakthrough into the future prevention of the disease. It could also lead to new treatments.”

Early warning proteins discovered

Researchers at Bristol University have identified two ‘growth factor’ proteins that are present in higher levels in men with prostate cancer. The proteins normally regulate growth and development in organs and tissue, especially in the womb and during childhood.

Dr Mari-Anne Rowlands, a cancer epidemiologist and the lead author of the study, said:

"It’s too early to be certain but these results suggest that we may have identified potential new biomarkers for very early prostate cancer in men with no symptoms. Now we need more research to determine whether levels of these potential biomarkers predict which prostate cancers detected by screening might progress to become life-threatening."

She and her colleagues compared a range of biomarkers, in 2,686 men with prostate cancer and 2,766 men without the condition.

Cancer and early baldness

Male pattern baldness is related to increased androgenic hormones such as testosterone, and androgens also play a role in the development of prostate cancer.

French researchers compared 388 men being treated for prostate cancer with 281 healthy men and found that those with the disease were twice as likely as the healthy men to have started losing their hair when they were 20. However, research at the University of Washington School of Medicine on 2000 men aged between 40 and 47 revealed the opposite result - that men who had started to develop bald spots on the top of their heads as well as receding hairlines by the age of 30 had a 25% to 45% reduction in the risk of prostate cancer.

Dr Alison Ross of Cancer Research UK commented, “The results hinge on asking men between ages 40 and 70 to remember whether their hair was thinning when they were 30, which does not produce a very reliable measurement.”

Asprin

Mark Buyyounouski, a Fox Chase Cancer Center radiation oncologist who looked at the impact of aspirin on prostate cancer patients hasfound an association between taking aspirin and a lower risk of some cancers or cancer-related death, but says the evidence is too weak to suggest that people start taking the drug for cancer. Aspirin can cause serious side effects: ulcers and bleeding. Buyyounouski analyzed a database of 2,000 men who had radiation treatment for prostate cancer between 1989 and 2006. Ten years after treatment, 31 percent of the 761 men who took aspirin during or after radiation had developed a recurrence compared with 39 percent of nonaspirin users.

What his study may mean, Buyyounouski said, is that "if you're taking aspirin already and you have prostate cancer, you may get double duty out of it." He said it was not clear why aspirin might affect cancer, but there is evidence that its anti-inflammatory properties might play a role. It may also encourage apoptosis, or the programmed death of cancer cells. 

Viagara could shrink tumours!  Lab tests on cells and mice found that when the anti-impotence drug was combined with powerful chemotherapy it not only reduced the size of tumours but also protected the heart at the same time.

Doxorubicin is a standard chemotherapy drug that works by triggering cancer cells to commit suicide but its use is linked with irreversible heart damage - often occurring several years after treatment stops.

Professor Rakesh Kukreja and colleagues say they have shown Viagra, (sildenafil), enhances the drug's anti-tumour qualities in prostate cancer while simultaneously alleviating the damage to the heart.

Prof Kukreja, of Virginia Commonwealth University said he is excited about the potential impact of the work and is keen to evaluate the combination in cancer patients. "My team and I are hoping to move the research forward to a clinical trial and plans are under way to do so." 

How broccoli fights cancer

Broccoli has been hailed as a 'superfood' after several studies suggested it had anti-cancer properties.

Now scientists at the Institute of Food Research at the Norwich Research Park have identified a chemical in the vegetable, called sulforaphane, which interact with genes involved in cancer development. The chemical seems to counteract a fault with the gene called PTEN which is involved in prostate cancer.

The gene normally stops cancer from developing but in certain cells it is missing and this is when the disease can begin. However sulforaphane seems to dampen the effect of these cells that are missing PTEN and prevents them from triggering cancer growth.

The study was conducted by a team, using prostate tissue from men and cancerous cells from mice.