Scientists identify two new subtypes of prostate cancer

Researchers discovered two new subspecies. prostate cancer resistant to current treatments. Despite growing concerns, scientists are optimistic that the innovation could open the door to new treatments in the future. The results were published in the scientific journal Science.

Most types of prostate cancer grow very slowly. Therefore, early diagnosis and adequate treatment have a very high chance of success in these cases.

One of the treatments currently available is to reduce testosterone levels to very low levels. However, in the new study, experts found four subtypes of the disease, two of which are new, that can resist this procedure.

The finding was based on the analysis of 40 tumor samples collected from different patients. Different properties of these materials were studied, such as DNA, RNA, and chromatin, a substance that packs chromosomes.

New pharmaceutical targets

It was precisely this last feature that scientists found new subtypes of prostate cancer. In addition, it was possible to discover the mechanism of action of these tumors.

They work by activating a number of chromatin proteins that stimulate accelerated cell proliferation. Knowing this, researchers now have new targets to target when developing antitumor drugs.

“Once we determine what types of tumors patients have, this is very powerful information,” Etka Khurana, one of the study’s authors, told New Atlas. “We found very promising drug targets for patients falling into this subtype.”

The researchers also determined the incidence of the new subtypes by sequencing RNA samples from 366 patients. One was abundant, reaching 22% to 30% of cases, while the other was more rare – only 5% to 7% of affected patients.

ARTICLE Science: doi.org/10.1126/science.abe1505