[NEWS] Moncton researchers find biomarker for prostate cancer

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Moncton researchers find biomarker for prostate cancer

Mon Dec 18, 12:26 PM

Cancer researchers in Moncton have developed a tool they say will eventually identify prostate cancer earlier and more accurately than standard tests.

Dr. Rodney Ouellette, who is part Atlantic Cancer Research Institute, leads a team of scientists that he said has come up with a biomarker - a series of telltale genes that always appear to be active in people with prostate cancer.

It took the scientist three years to whittle down the 20,000 genes in the human genome to find the eight genes that have repeatedly shown up in men with prostate cancer.

Ouellette admitted the discovery is a long way from being put to practical use, but believes the biomarker has huge implications for men in whom prostate cancer is suspected.

For example, testing for the genes can be accomplished in minutes with a blood test, while results for a regular biopsy can take days.

Ouellette's team also suggests the technology could replace the PSA, the blood test currently used to screen for prostate cancer.

PSA readings are not always reliable, occasionally coming up with false positives or, worse, not detecting when cancer is present.

"Any time you can boost the accuracy of what exists by 10 to 20 per cent, that translates into lives," Ouellette said.

Cancer survivor Norman Landry's initial PSA didn't show his prostate cancer. His doctor recommended a biopsy, which revealed the growth. Landry said a gene test would have been even better.

"Even when I was detected that I had cancer, my reading was very low," he said. "So, if I would have relied strictly on that, I probably would have found out I had cancer when maybe it was too late."

Ouellette said his team has five to 10 years of development work ahead and is seeking a commercial partner to develop a test that can be used in hospital labs. He believes such a test would be 95 per cent accurate in diagnosing a patient with prostate cancer.

Ouellette hopes his team will also be able to isolate biomarkers for other kinds of cancer, including colon, breast ovarian and lung cancer.

The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute is located in the s Dumont Hospital in Moncton.

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