Why we funded it
Most screen-detected prostate cancers do not necessarily require
treatment, in the sense that, even without treatment, they would
never have caused any symptoms. Radical treatment of early prostate
cancer should ideally only take place for men with
significant cancers, so that the remainder are spared the
side-effects.
Accurate prediction of individual prostate cancer behaviour at
the time of diagnosis is not currently possible, and immediate
radical treatment for all cases is a standard approach. Professor
Cooper's research aims to provide information regarding key
molecules and markers which may allow us, in future, to distinguish
the ggressive from the milder cases. This would allow more targeted
teratemtns towards those who really need it, whilst sparing many
other men the side-effects of radical treatment.
Scientific title
Multiplex detection of prognostic biomarkers in the urine of
patients on Active Surveillance
Research project summary
One of the major questions facing prostate cancer researchers
today is how to find a way to distinguish, with confidence,
aggressive prostate tumours from those that are slow-growing and
unlikely to present a danger within a man's natural lifespan.
This is particularly important now that PSA testing is becoming
more widespread because we know that most prostate cancers detected
this way, in men with no other signs of prostate trouble, are the
slow-growing form. Intensive treatment should be targeted
only at men with dangerous cancers so that the remainder are spared
the side-effects.
This short pilot project will form the ground work for a much
larger clinical trial looking at prostate cancer markers in the
urine. Professor Cooper hopes that a panel of markers can be
established that gives a good prediction of tumour behaviour at the
time of diagnosis so that men can make properly informed decisions
about treatment. This study will establish the best method of
analysing these markers and the best way of preparing urine for
analysis, so that a larger international clinical trial can go
ahead in collaboration with large prostate centres in Rotterdam and
Toronto.