Aneuploidy, an abnormal number of chromosomes in cells, plays a key role in driving aggressive disease in prostate cancer, a study suggests. One hallmark of cancer is an abnormal number of chromosomes, known as aneuploidy. However, how aneuploidy influences cancer progression, or whether chromosome gains or losses can inform treatment decisions, remain unclear. Lorelei Mucci, Angelika Amon, and colleagues developed a method to estimate chromosome arm gains and losses by comparing DNA copy number data with whole-transcriptome data from tumor samples from 333 patients with prostate cancer. The authors applied an algorithm for predicting aneuploidy to transcriptome data from two independent cohorts of 404 men with prostate cancer. The patients were followed prospectively for a median of 15 years to assess long-term outcomes of metastases and prostate cancer-specific death. The 23% of patients whose tumors had five or more predicted chromosome arm alterations at the time of diagnosis had 5.3 times higher odds of lethal cancer during follow-up, compared with those who had no predicted aneuploidy. Even among high-risk patients, the degree of tumor aneuploidy predicted future lethal disease. According to the authors, the findings suggest that aneuploidy plays a key role in driving aggressive disease in prostate cancer. Moreover, the extent of aneuploidy could be used clinically as a tool to inform risk stratification and treatment.
Article #19-02645: "Aneuploidy drives lethal progression in prostate cancer," by Konrad Stopsack et al.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Angelika Amon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; tel: 617-258-8964; e-mail: angelika@mit.edu; Lorelei Mucci, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA; tel: 617-432-1732; e-mail: lmucci@hsph.harvard.edu
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences