Prostate cancer: Scientists develop early blood test to see whether men can benefit from new drug that can significantly improve chances of survival
Researchers believe the test can be used to assess whether someone will benefit from abiraterone before it is prescribed
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Your support makes all the difference.Scientists have developed an early blood test to see whether men with advanced prostate cancer can benefit from a new drug that can significantly improve their chances of survival.
The prototype test detects variations in the tumour DNA circulating in the blood stream that determine whether men will respond to the powerful anti-cancer drug abiraterone which is licensed for patients with advanced prostate cancer.
Researchers believe the test can be used to assess whether someone will benefit from abiraterone before it is prescribed. This would prevent men with advanced prostate cancer being given a drug that will not work for them, enabling doctors to concentrate on alternative treatments.
The test is being developed by scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, where abiraterone was also developed, and a small-scale study on 274 blood samples from 97 patients has shown that it can identify the mutations in the androgen receptor gene which make cancer cells resistant to the drug.
“This new study finds that by analysing tumour DNA present in the bloodstream, we should be able to personalise treatment with abiraterone, so that only those who will benefit from the drug will receive it,” said Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of the institute.
“It is the latest step forward in the new era we are in of precision cancer medicine, where rather than using a treatment in the hope that a patient will benefit, we can look at tumour DNA in advance and be much more confident that a particular treatment will work,” Professor Workman said.
Further research is needed before the test can be used. The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
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