Blood test ‘predicts course of cancer’

A BLOOD test for missing or duplicated DNA could provide a way of predicting relapsing prostate cancer, research has shown.

Scientists found that genetic abnormalities called copy number variations (CNVs) correlated with recurring cancers.

They were also able to show if a relapsing cancer was likely to be aggressive or slow-growing.

CNVs are large chunks of the genetic code with either duplicated or missing sections of DNA.

Scientists found cancer- related CNVs both in tumours and the blood of patients.

The abnormalities in blood enabled researchers to correctly predict 81 per cent of relapsing prostate cancers that returned after initial treatment, and 69 per cent of fast-growing cases.

CNVs from tumour tissue, and healthy prostate tissue next to tumours, could also be used to identify relapsing cancers but with less accuracy.

Chief investigator Dr Jian-Hua Luo, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the US, said: “Our analysis indicates that CNV occurred in both cancer and non-cancer tissues, and CNV of these tissues predicts prostate cancer progression.”

He added: “For a patient diagnosed with prostate cancer, CNV analysis done on blood or normal tissues would eliminate the need for additional invasive procedures to decide a treatment mode.

“For a patient already having a radical prostatectomy, CNV analysis on the tumour or blood sample may help to decide whether additional treatment is warranted to prevent relapse. Despite some limitations, CNV analysis on the genome of blood, normal prostate or tumour tissues holds promise to become a more efficient and accurate way to predict the behaviour of prostate cancer.”

The research is reported in the American Journal of Pathology.