Compared with breast cancer, prostate cancer has been comparatively neglected as a topic for research; little has been discovered of its causes, there's no reliable method of early detection or treatment and nothing can be done to prevent it.
As a medium-term strategy, we decided to conduct a large case-control study in the mid-1990s to address several hypotheses, including diet. It soon became apparent that the strongest risk factor for prostate cancer was having a family history of the disease, and additional funding was sought to convert the case-control study into a family study.
The strategy since has been to build an epidemiological and biological resource that will position us at the forefront of prostate cancer genetics research. We've recruited a large number of people with early-onset prostate cancer (55 years of age or under), and their relatives, to search for susceptibility genes. Because prostate tumours are biologically diverse, another strategy has been to perform analyses on tumour samples to identify subgroups that are more homogenous. Homogenous tumours are likely to share risk factors and have susceptibility genes in common.
Newsletters are used to keep participants up to date with progress and to help them stay in contact with us. For more information email: prostate.study@cancervic.org.au or phone Melisa Bagnato (03) 9514 6256.
Current projects
For more details on any of our current projects email CED.Mailbox@cancervic.org.au.
Australian Prostate Cancer Family Study
Victorian Early Onset Prostate Cancer Family Study
Radical Prostatectomy Register
ACTANE (Anglo-Canadian-Texan-Norwegian-EU) consortium
IARC Prostate Cancer Genetics Discovery Project
ICPCG (International Consortium for Prostate Cancer Genetics)
Australian Prostate Cancer Family Study
Investigators: Giles GG, English D, Hopper JL* (*External collaborator)
Objectives:
- To determine how much prostate cancer in the population is attributable to cancer susceptibility genes, taking into account epidemiological risk factors.
- To identify prostate cancer susceptibility genes.
- To identify specific disease phenotypes through immuno-histochemistry and pathology analysis and study possible links with genetic susceptibility.
- In the long term, to study prognosis and survival as a function of genetic susceptibility.
Victorian Early Onset Prostate Cancer Family Study
Investigators: Giles G, English, D, Hopper J* (*External collaborator)
Objectives:
- To identify prostate cancer susceptibility genes.
- To identify specific disease phenotypes through immuno-histochemistry and pathology analysis and study possible links with genetic susceptibility.
- In the long term, to study prognosis and survival as a function of genetic susceptibility.
Radical Prostatectomy Register
Investigators: Giles G, Syme R* (*External collaborator)
Objectives:
- To document the population-based incidence and the clinical (e.g. stage, PSA), surgical (e.g. type of surgery) and pathological (e.g. TNM, Gleason score) characteristics of radical prostatectomies in Victoria over a five-year period, and to follow these cases up for five years after surgery for recurrence, further treatment and complications.
- To retrieve and review the tumour tissue.