New study reveals genetic clues to aggressive prostate cancers

Among people with prostate cancer, higher levels of aneuploidy—a state in which a cell has too few or too many copies of some chromosomes—is associated with more aggressive and lethal forms of the cancer, according to new research co-led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

A May 13, 2019, article from MIT News noted that the discovery suggests a possible way to more accurately predict a patient’s prognosis. Moreover, the findings could help doctors decide which patients may need more aggressive treatments.

“To me, the exciting opportunity here is the ability to inform treatment, because prostate cancer is such a prevalent cancer,” said Lorelei Mucci, associate professor of epidemiology and corresponding author of the study.

Read the MIT News article: Measuring chromosome imbalance could clarify cancer prognosis