New three-in-one blood test ‘could aid prostate cancer treatment’

An innovative blood test has been developed that could open the door for personalised precision treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

Created by the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the test has three different functions, and is the first developed for precision prostate cancer therapy targeted at specific genetic faults within tumours.

It is able to test cancer DNA in the bloodstream to identify patients who would benefit most from treatment with PARP inhibitors, while it can also analyse DNA in the blood after treatment has started, meaning people who are not responding to treatment can be switched to an alternative therapy.

Additionally, the test can be used to monitor a patient's blood throughout treatment, making it easier for clinicians to determine when the cancer is evolving and might therefore become resistant to the drugs used.

Professor Johann de Bono, Regius professor of cancer research at the Institute of Cancer Research, said: "Not only could the test have a major impact on treatment of prostate cancer, but it could also be adapted to open up the possibility of precision medicine to patients with other types of cancer as well."

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