Treatment for prostate cancer has made great progress in recent years. If the cancer is detected early, close to 100% of men will survive. However, if it’s detected later and spreads, it’s far more difficult to treat.
But here’s some very promising news. A CCS study you helped to fund is making big leaps in advancing treatment for men who have metastatic hormone-resistant prostate cancer (cancer that has spread and become resistant to standard hormone therapy).
Dr Alexander Wyatt and his research team studied the DNA of people with this type of prostate cancer and looked for a specific type of genetic change. Remarkably, they found that 6% of aggressive prostate cancers had this alteration, which made the tumours vulnerable to particular drugs.
This discovery has the potential to help doctors create personalized treatment that is unique to a person’s own genetic make-up.
This could reduce unnecessary treatments and give men with this type of prostate cancer better chances of successful treatment.
But it wouldn’t be possible without your help.
“Without CCS, I don’t think I would have an operating laboratory,” says Dr Wyatt. “That’s how fundamental it’s been to our success here and making sure that prostate cancer research in Canada thrives.”
Thanks to your generous support, men with metastatic hormone-resistant prostate cancer have new hope on their cancer journeys.
CCS gratefully acknowledges the support of the Movember Foundation, whose generosity helped make this research possible.