Fifteen years of painstaking research into prostate cancer has now paid off for UniSA Professor Doug Brooks, with the launch of a new biomarker test in clinical trials. Credit: University of South Australia Weapon Shows Early Humans were Master Woodworkers
Key points:
- Researchers have identified three new biomarkers for prostate cancer.
- The biomarkers help determine which patients require immediate treatment versus those that need close monitoring.
- The technology has been licensed to Quest Diagnostics for commercialization, pending a successful U.S. clinical trial.
Scientists at the University of South Australia have identified three new biomarkers for prostate cancer to help identify and differentiate potentially aggressive cases of the disease.
The new biomarkers, when used together, will assist clinicians in determining which patients require immediate, radical treatment compared with those who need close monitoring.
“The biomarkers are remarkably sensitive and specific in accurately visualizing the progress of the cancer and confirming its grade,” said Doug Brooks, professor or molecular medicine at the University of South Australia.
Envision Sciences, which funded the development and translation of the technology, has signed a commercialization agreement with Quest Diagnostics to take the technology into clinical practice. Pending a successful outcome in the U.S., it is expected that clinical trials using the technology will be undertaken in Australia.
With more than one million men diagnosed with prostate cancer worldwide each year, the research breakthrough is significant.
“It is anticipated this will lead to long-term improvements in the way prostate cancer is diagnosed and graded,” said Brooks.