Dr Tarek Bismar’s research is helping doctors predict how fast a prostate tumour will grow. And we have you to thank!
1 min. read
Dr Tarek Bismar
Prostate cancer treatment varies from person to person. While some patients with advanced cancer might require aggressive therapy, those with early-stage prostate cancer may not require any therapy at all.
For this latter group, doctors will sometimes recommend active surveillance, a process that allows them to closely monitor the cancer for any signs of progression. This approach can help avoid the unpleasant side effects of treatment for cancer that does not pose a serious or immediate threat.
While active surveillance has its advantages for slow-growing tumours, doctors need a way to accurately predict which prostate cancers will advance more aggressively.
A new clinical trial that you helped to fund could help make that happen.
CCS-funded researcher Dr Tarek Bismar and his team are working to help doctors predict how fast a prostate tumour will grow or spread.
They have identified a new biomarker called ISL1, which is linked with prostate tumours that resist treatment and spread aggressively. The team found that ISL1 levels were lower in high-grade and metastatic prostate tumours. They also discovered two biomarkers that could help doctors more accurately predict disease progression.
Equipped with that information, doctors will be better able to tailor treatment to individual patients. They will be able to ensure people with lower-risk tumours don’t undergo needless or toxic therapies. And they will be able to ensure those with aggressive tumours get treatment that is more likely to save their lives.
And it is all due to the funding you provide.
“I'm very grateful for the support that CCS donors have given me,” notes Dr Bismar. “I wouldn't be able to do it without you. The work you’re supporting will help improve care for men with prostate cancer.”
For this latter group, doctors will sometimes recommend active surveillance, a process that allows them to closely monitor the cancer for any signs of progression. This approach can help avoid the unpleasant side effects of treatment for cancer that does not pose a serious or immediate threat.
While active surveillance has its advantages for slow-growing tumours, doctors need a way to accurately predict which prostate cancers will advance more aggressively.
A new clinical trial that you helped to fund could help make that happen.
CCS-funded researcher Dr Tarek Bismar and his team are working to help doctors predict how fast a prostate tumour will grow or spread.
They have identified a new biomarker called ISL1, which is linked with prostate tumours that resist treatment and spread aggressively. The team found that ISL1 levels were lower in high-grade and metastatic prostate tumours. They also discovered two biomarkers that could help doctors more accurately predict disease progression.
Equipped with that information, doctors will be better able to tailor treatment to individual patients. They will be able to ensure people with lower-risk tumours don’t undergo needless or toxic therapies. And they will be able to ensure those with aggressive tumours get treatment that is more likely to save their lives.
And it is all due to the funding you provide.
“I'm very grateful for the support that CCS donors have given me,” notes Dr Bismar. “I wouldn't be able to do it without you. The work you’re supporting will help improve care for men with prostate cancer.”