Researchers at the University of South Australia have discovered three new biomarkers for prostate cancer. These biomarkers can help identify and distinguish potentially aggressive cases of the disease, which is responsible for the deaths of over 300,000 men annually.
Professor Doug Brooks, a molecular medicine expert at UniSA, led an international team of scientists in this breakthrough. The new biomarkers aid pathologists in visualizing prostate cancer in patient tissue samples.
When used in combination, these biomarkers can assist clinicians in determining which patients require immediate, radical treatment and which patients need closer monitoring.
Given that over one million men are diagnosed with prostate cancer worldwide each year, this research breakthrough is incredibly significant.
This team at UniSA has collaborated with Envision Sciences, an Australian company, to develop the technology and improve patient management and treatment outcomes.
“We expect that this will lead to long-term improvements in the diagnosis and grading of prostate cancer,” said Professor Brooks.
“The biomarkers are highly sensitive and accurate in visualizing the progression of the cancer and confirming its grade. This discovery has resulted in the creation of a test that can determine the advanced stage and aggressiveness of the cancer, and whether immediate treatment is necessary.”
Envision Sciences, through their funding and support, has signed a commercialization agreement with Quest Diagnostics, the largest tissue diagnostic pathology company in the US. This partnership will enable the technology to be used in clinical practice.
If the outcome is successful in the US, clinical trials will be conducted in Australia using this innovative technology.
Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington AO, UniSA’s Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Enterprise, describes this breakthrough as “life-saving.” She believes that the partnership between UniSA and Envision Sciences is an exciting development in cancer research.
“This technology represents a shift in the way clinicians can grade and predict the aggressiveness of prostate cancer. We look forward to the impact it will have in the coming years,” she said.
The research has been published in the journal Cancers.