Doctors could predict aggressive prostate cancer earlier with Aussie research
Lethal forms of the disease could be diagnosed sooner with the identification of epigenetic biomarkers, say authors
Epigenetic biomarkers to predict more aggressive forms of prostate cancer have been identified by researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
Combined with traditional clinical tools, the group believe their findings will allow doctors to predict whether men will go on to develop more metastatic forms of the disease.
Typically, this takes 15 or more years but a small percentage of men develop a fatal, metastatic form at a much earlier stage.
Oncologist and clinical lead on the study, Professor Lisa Horvath, said the epigenetic biomarkers had the potential to distinguish early on lethal forms of the disease.
