Genomic Profiles May Improve Prostate Cancer Treatment
Men with symptoms of hormone-refractory prostate cancer are usually treated with docetaxel and steroids as first line treatment. Research shows that many patients live longer with docetaxel treatment. However, not all of these prostate cancers respond to docetaxel. We are working to develop a genomic profile that doctors can use to identify patients whose cancer is likely to respond to docetaxel treatment. By knowing beforehand which patients are unlikely to respond to docetaxel, we can treat them appropriately from the beginning. Such individualized treatment might include a more effective drug or a drug cocktail that includes docetaxel with a new drug. In this way, each patient would start with the treatment type most likely to benefit him.
Using a tumor's genomic profile as a guide to selecting cancer treatment will be part of "personalized medicine." With personalized medicine, a doctor will use genomic information from the patient's own tumor to choose an individualized treatment program for that patient. Think of the genomic profile of a prostate cancer tumor as another tool in the physician's kit.
Genomic profiles allow us to compare how types of tumors use genes differently. Different genes may be turned on or off, or operating differently in various types of tumors. The activity of genes in a tumor's cells changes its behavior, a bit like varying a cake's ingredients changes its flavor and appearance. We can use these differences to learn why some tumors are sensitive to docetaxel while others are resistant. This is how we use genomic profiles to study how tumors become docetaxel resistant. Once we know more about why tumors develop docetaxel resistance, we can design new treatments. These could work in one of two ways. A new treatment might prevent tumors from becoming docetaxel resistant. Another type of new treatment might increase the docetaxel sensitivity in resistant tumors.