Inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria and study summary
Prostate cancer (PrCa) is the most common cancer in men in the UK with over 47,000 men diagnosed every year. Research shows the main contributing factors to PrCa development are age, a family history of PrCa, and being from certain ethnic backgrounds. These risk factors can be grouped into environmental and inherited factors (i.e. genetic changes). The team's previous research shows that defects in certain genes are not only associated with higher rates of PrCa development, but are associated with more aggressive disease. It is likely that it is not simply a family history of PrCa that is linked with this phenomenon, but also the presence of mutations in a persons DNA (genetic material) from birth. Genetic 'panel' tests can detect mutations in known PrCa genes and ‘genetic profiling’ can be used to look at a person's DNA for many common genetic changes involved in PrCa and adding them together to give an overall genetic risk score. This study is a non-interventional single-site study, at the Royal Marsden Hospital (RMH). It will offer PrCa-specific genetic testing to men with, or at high-risk of, PrCa to identify the prevalence of genetic defects in 2 high-risk cohorts. 1. Men with PrCa AND diagnosed young (ie under 70, OR with a family history, OR with disease that has spread (metastatic). 2. Unaffected men with a family history PrCa defined as: a. A first degree relative(FDR) diagnosed < 70 years b. Two FDR/second degree relative(SDR), one diagnosed < 70 years c. Three FD/SDR diagnosed at any age(on the same side of family) This study will evaluate the usefulness of this knowledge within a clinical setting to determine how it informs management of these men, in terms of screening and/or treatment. Identifying men with such mutations earlier in their disease trajectory will offer new insights into the role these genes play within PrCa progression and treatment response.
