New Lab Technology Aids in Prostate Cancer Treatment

Researchers have developed a new way of performing lab tests that could improve the way physicians manage prostate cancer treatment. The new technology will allow them to identify with exceptional accuracy losses of a gene called PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog), which is associated with an aggressive group of prostate cancers.

The improved fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) platform utilizes DNA probes to analyze the three-dimensional (3D) space cancer cells occupy in routine clinical microscopic analysis of tissue sections of tumors. It will provide a more accurate way of identifying PTEN loss in biopsies and tissue sections so doctors can better match the type and amount of treatment to the aggressiveness of a tumor.

"The idea is that this test could be used in new cases of prostate cancer to help decide which of the many options is best suited for more aggressive cancers, " said Jeremy Squire, who worked with a team of researchers in the department of pathology and molecular medicine at Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario, Canada). "The patient treatment from the get-go will be more appropriately planned.”

PTEN is found in the nucleus of cancer cells and is thought to be one of the most important cancer-causing tumor-suppressor genes. If there is loss in the PTEN, it can inhibit the patient's ability to combat the cancer. It plays a critical role in a variety of cancers including prostate, breast, and lung cancers.

PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer office of Queen's University has licensed the technology to Cymogen Dx (New Windsor, NY, USA). The company expects to make the technology available to research and clinical markets in the near future.

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Queen's University
Cymogen Dx