Prostate cancer breakthrough as doctors find new clues to help predict disease years in advance

Prostate cancer breakthrough as doctors find new clues to help predict disease years in advance Scientists have found a potential link between proteins in the body and prostate cancer that were detected in men several years before they were diagnosed with the disease Cancer researchers have discovered key clues to help predict which men may develop prostate cancer, more than a decade in advance. Oxford University scientists found proteins linked to aggressive forms of the disease, pinpointing with more accuracy which cancers might become life-threatening. Scientists believe they will be able to use these findings in the future to develop new ways to catch the disease early, or prevent it occurring in the first place. The work, which is the largest study of its kind, found biological differences between men who developed prostate cancer later and those who did not. The research, published in European Urology and presented at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) annual meeting, examined blood samples from 982 men who later developed prostate cancer. A randomly selected sample of 1,573 men from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition were also included in the work. Researchers measured more than 6,000 proteins in the blood and people were followed up for around 16 years. Scientists found 12 proteins that were linked to prostate cancer diagnosed more than 15 years later. These included GZMK, a protein produced by immune cells involved in recognising and destroying abnormal cells. It suggests the immune systems in the body could be keeping prostate cancer in check long before it is diagnosed, the team said. Researchers also found seven proteins linked to aggressive prostate cancer. Researchers also identified seven proteins linked to aggressive prostate cancer. One of these, ANKRD1, was found in cancers that spread or cause early death. The study also advanced knowledge around how cancer cells interact with surrounding tissue, and how new blood vessels form. Dr Zhe Huang, first author of the study and a postdoctoral epidemiologist at Oxford Population Health, said: "Prostate cancer is not one disease. Many prostate cancers grow slowly and may never cause harm, while others are aggressive and can be life-threatening. "By measuring thousands of proteins in blood collected years before diagnosis, we can begin to investigate how men who later develop aggressive prostate cancer may differ from men who do not. Ultimately, we hope this will help us understand the biology of aggressive prostate cancer and identify markers that could improve how we assess risk in the future." Prostate Cancer UK said more than 63,000 men are diagnosed with the disease each year and that more than 12,000 die from it. Early stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms, but in later stages it can change urinary habits such as weak flow or needing to go more often. The NHS said the main symptoms of prostate cancer are: 'Stop start' peeing, needing to pee urgently or often, or both, peeing during the night, having a weak flow of urine, finding it difficult to start peeing, feeling you still need to pee when you've just finished. Other symptoms include erectile dysfunction, blood in your urine or semen and lower back pain or losing weight without trying. The new study also found links with blood levels of proteins produced by genes already known to be important in prostate cancer, including ERBB3, KRAS and NRAS. These were linked to aggressive prostate cancer diagnosed around a decade later. Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, which part-funded the study, said: "Prostate cancer is one of the biggest cancer killers of men, yet we still don't fully understand why some tumours grow slowly and may never cause harm, while others become aggressive and life-threatening. "Understanding what drives these differences is crucial if we are to identify those most at risk and ultimately save more lives. This research offers important new clues... While there is more work to do, discoveries like this could pave the way for better ways to identify men at risk and, ultimately, prevent aggressive prostate cancer before it develops." Simon Grieveson, assistant director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: "One of our greatest challenges in prostate cancer is to better understand which men are at greatest risk of being diagnosed with aggressive disease."This research provides further insight into particular proteins, and associated genes, which might play a part in increasing a man's risk of getting aggressive prostate cancer." Professor Prabhakar Rajan, from Queen Mary University of London, welcomed the study but said "it does not yet establish that a protein-based blood test can reliably identify men who will develop aggressive prostate cancer or is ready for routine clinical use".