Genetic testing ‘can aid personalised prostate cancer treatment’

A new study from the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust has demonstrated the benefits of genetic testing for prostate cancer.

Conducted in partnership with colleagues from seven cancer centres in the US, the study examined the DNA of 20 genes known to be involved in DNA repair among 692 men with advanced prostate cancer.

It was found that around 12 percent of men had at least one germline mutation – meaning an error that is either inherited or developed before birth – in a DNA repair gene, with the most commonly defective gene being BRCA2, which was mutated in five percent of the group.

The researchers believe men with these inherited mutations may benefit from treatment with a new class of drugs called PARP inhibitors, which work by taking advantage of weaknesses in the processes for DNA repair within cancer cells.

A simple saliva test was used to analyse the DNA of patients in this study, suggesting this approach could be straightforward to administer.

Johann de Bono, professor of experimental cancer medicine at the Institute of Cancer Research, said: "Our study has shown that a significant proportion of men with advanced prostate cancer are born with DNA repair mutations – and this could have important implications for patients."