Spotlight on Prostate Cancer Research in Wales
Prostate cancer is a major health concern in Wales, being the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men with around 2800 cases each year. While many early-stage cases are treatable and have long-term survival, outcomes worsen significantly once the disease spreads
Cancer Research Wales is funding several prostate cancer projects that tackle key issues for this cancer type, including the development of better treatment options and predicting patients’ risk of recurrence.
Informed Decision-Making through Predictive Tests
One project, being conducted at Cardiff University, is investigating whether cells called fibroblasts can be used as proxy markers to determine which patients are likely to relapse.
Around 30% of men treated with surgery for localised prostate cancer see the disease return within five years, and clinicians currently lack reliable methods to predict which men will suffer from these recurrences.
While a lot of research has focused on the cancer cells themselves, other non-cancerous cells in the tumour play important roles and may offer important clinical information.
Fibroblasts are specialised cells present in many parts of the body, including the prostate, which function to provide structure to tissues. However, the development of cancer can cause changes to local fibroblasts, encouraging them to actually support the growth of the tumour.
In Dr Helen Pearson’s study, advanced imaging techniques are being used to measure the amount, location and different types of fibroblasts in surgical samples from prostate cancer patients who either did or did not experience recurrence.
The hope is that particular patterns of fibroblast will be associated with relapse and as such could act as an early warning sign for clinicians. If successful, this work could lead to tests that guide follow-up care and treatment decisions after surgery.
Understanding Biology through Realistic Models
A second project, also based at Cardiff University, is developing a more realistic laboratory model of prostate tumours.
The goal is to mimic the biochemical, mechanical and immunological features of real tumours, so that new treatments can be tested in a setting that more accurately reflects how cancers behave in people.
Led by Dr Oommen Oommen, the team are generating 3D hydrogel models that combine patient-derived prostate cancer cells with the other non-cancerous cells that typically surround them, such as immune cells and fibroblasts, in order to recreate the natural tumour microenvironment.
By replicating the complex “crosstalk” between cancer cells, immune cells and fibroblasts, the new models aim to demonstrate more accurately how tumours respond to therapies - including why some treatments work in the lab but not once they are tested in patients.
This should make preclinical drug screening more predictive and help prioritise treatments to take forward for further testing and future clinical trials.
Taken together, these two projects exemplify Cancer Research Wales’s translational approach: understanding the biology that drives resistance and recurrence and using that knowledge to develop better ways of testing and predicting treatment responses so future patients can benefit.
The focus on realistic tumour models and on biomarkers that could be used in routine pathology shows how laboratory research can move towards clinical impact.
This type of work offers real hope that, in future, more men with prostate cancer in Wales will receive treatments that are matched to the biology of their disease, helping to improve outcomes and ensure more men survive than ever before.
Research like this depends on public support. If you’d like to learn more about our research projects or find out how to support cutting-edge research in Wales, lots of information is available across our website.