Three-gene blood test predicts prostate cancer resistance within a year
A prospective, single-centre study published in Frontiers in Oncology found that a blood mRNA model using SLC25A39, SLC6A8 and YBX3 predicted progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic hormone-sensitive disease. The model’s area under the curve was 0.89 in development and 0.83 in a small internal validation group; its authors say it needs multicentre testing before it can guide treatment.
Bottom line — The 147 patients who completed follow-up are not enough to establish the model for routine clinical use.
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The study enrolled patients at Sichuan Cancer Hospital in China; all were East Asian, the authors note.
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At a median follow-up of 611 days, 54 patients had progressed to castration-resistant disease, according to the study abstract on PubMed.
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High-risk patients had a median 466 days without progression; the low-risk group’s median was not reached, OncLive reports.
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In laboratory tests using one cancer cell line, inhibiting SLC6A8 reduced cell growth and glycolysis-related activity, PubMed reports.
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The authors describe possible treatment-selection uses as hypothetical and say prospective validation is needed.