Single Gene May Help Physicians Identify, Improve Treatment for Higher Risk Prostate Cancer Patients

June 19, 2023 – Sarasota

Historically, prostate cancer has been diagnosed using the clinical stage and characteristics of the tumor to help predict its aggressiveness and outcomes of cancer treatment. But a new study by local urologist Robert I. Carey, MD PhD, and research colleagues Genesis G. Dolgetta, BS, and Tonya King, PhD, from Sarasota Memorial’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute and Sarasota Memorial Research Institute has pinpointed a single gene that may increase a patient’s risk of early death.

Dr. Carey said the predictive value of the AURKA gene provides new benefits to help treat patients with prostate cancer at Sarasota Memorial’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute.

“The science of prostate cancer genomics has advanced to the point that expression of a single gene, AURKA, has superior predictive value for death by prostate cancer than all our previous gold standard paradigms of clinical stage and gleason grade group,” said Dr. Carey. “From the moment of an elevated prostate specific antigen test to a new diagnosis of prostate cancer, all patients should receive careful counseling from a urologic oncologist including the use of genomics in their discussions.”

While there are thousands of genes associated with the development and progression of prostate cancer, this study is groundbreaking, Dr. Carey said, because the research team is the first to identify the individual genes systematically and mathematically that are associated with progression to death by prostate cancer. The study,Correlation of Post-Prostatectomy Decipher Genomic Classification to Clinical Outcomes in Prostate Cancer over 8-year follow-up, evaluated how the expression of individual genes and groups of genomic signatures predicted actual clinical outcomes in 197 patients that underwent robotic prostatectomy. Results of the study were presented at the 2023 American Urologic Association Annual Meeting in Chicago in (add date or month/year).

Among other findings, the study found that AURKA gene expression is a better predictor of DSM (Disease Specific Mortality) at 8-year follow-up than clinical T stage, Gleason grade group and the Decipher Risk score itself (the most common systems doctors use to stratify the risk of prostate cancer). High AURKA expression in post-prostatectomy genomic analysis is linked to early death from prostate cancer. Researchers continue to study the genetic link to determine whether targeted therapies can minimize or reverse that risk.