A Novel Serum and Tissue Immunoglycomic Biomarker Panel to Distinguish Progressive PCa
Abstract
A key test to determine whether someone has prostate cancer is the measure of the levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in blood. While this test is effective at indicating there is a likelihood of cancer, it has no predictive value to determine if the cancer will aggressively grow and become deadly or if it is slow-growing and poses no lethal threat. For early diagnosed localized prostate cancer, the major clinical challenge is the treatment decision on whether a patient should receive invasive intervention or be monitored for tumor growth, termed “active surveillance.” Currently, the decision is purely subjective as there is no valid biomarker to guide and predict the cancer progression. Consequently, patients with slow-growing prostate cancer can be unnecessarily overtreated, or conversely, patients with prostate cancer of the aggressive nature may miss out on needed treatment. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop predictive biomarkers for localized prostate cancer to guide clinical decision-making that is most beneficial to each patient, and also to avoid the personal and financial costs associated with overtreatment. The objective of this proposal is to address this imminent clinical need and to develop a panel of non-invasive serum biomarkers to provide accurate prediction of an aggressive prostate cancer versus the slow-growing prostate cancer at the time of initial cancer diagnosis. The approach to be taken is new in that the biomarker targets to be tested are based on the underlying biology of each prostate tumor and how the immune system is reacting to the tumor. Dr. Wu has identified tumor-derived immune markers indicative of more aggressive cancer, and Dr. Drake has identified changes in the glycan structures present on the tumor cell surface associated with aggressive tumors. As these cell surface glycans are recognized by both tumor and immune cells as disease progresses, the combination testing of these markers makes sense biologically, and the approach has not been done before. The hypothesis is that these immune and glycan changes can be translated from tumor tissue detection to the development of a predictive blood test. This prediction method will allow a more informed clinical decision to be made on whether a man should receive advanced treatment to stop the aggressive tumor growth. For less aggressive cancers, which are the majority of prostate cancers detected, this prediction method will better inform on decisions to not receive invasive therapy. While it will take several years to validate this approach using a blood test, the methods used are readily implementable in the clinical setting such that the test could be done during an office visit. The longer-term impact will provide life-saving and quality of life benefits to men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 29, 2018
- Source ID
- W81XWH1710643
Entities
People
- Richard Drake
Organizations
- Medical University of South Carolina
- United States Army