A gene linked to eye cancer may also indicate a man’s risk of developing aggressive forms of prostate cancer, British researchers reported last night.
The discovery, involving a retinoblastoma gene, has emerged from the largest ever study of advanced prostate cancer genomics, according to the Institute of Cancer Research, London.
Mutations in the gene, RB1, were linked to a trebled risk of dying and a seven times increased risk of relapse after treatment once prostate cancer was diagnosed, the researchers say.
The findings were reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and involved analysis of 444 tumour samples from 429 patients with advanced disease.
The researchers say they also identified a group of patients who might respond to immunotherapy and the breast cancer drug palbociclib.
Variants in the gene CDK12 were associated with a good response to immunotherapy – and the same patients had mutations in the genes CDK4 and CCND1, the targets of palbociclib.
Researcher Professor Johann de Bono, an oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation trust, said: "Our study really got under the bonnet of prostate cancer to understand the ‘engine’ driving tumour growth and explore how a wide range of genes affect the disease and its response to treatment. We identified one particular genetic mutation that seems to indicate that tumours are going to be very aggressive, and that the affected men need the most intensive treatment we have available.
"Our research could also open up various new approaches to prostate cancer treatment and offers the intriguing suggestion that some patients could benefit from immunotherapy alongside an existing breast cancer drug."
PNAS 6 May 2019
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