Cancer research: Blood, urine and tissue samples taken from men who present with prostate cancer to four Dublin hospitals are to be stored for the first time in an attempt to find new ways of treating the disease.
The samples will also be used to try to find ways of detecting the disease earlier, to attempt to establish why some men respond to treatment more readily than others, and to test new treatments on different types of tumour.
Details of the prostate tumour bank and the setting-up of a high-level consortium to conduct the research were announced at a reception in Dublin yesterday.
Prof Donal Hollywood, professor of clinical oncology at St Luke's Hospital and one of the three senior investigators of the new Prostate Cancer Research Consortium, said around 1,150 cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in the Republic every year. There are also more than 500 deaths a year from the condition.
This meant that existing treatments were not effective for a large cohort of patients and there was a need to improve the range of treatments available, he said.
Membership of the consortium includes surgeons, pathologists, scientists and oncologists, among others. They will work to find early "biomarkers" or indicators of tumours of the prostate, isolate the range of tumours which may be present in one individual and try to establish which tumours respond to which treatment. "It's obvious to clinicians in the field that not all prostate cancers behave in the same way," Prof Hollywood said.
He added that PSA, the biomarker currently used to test for prostate cancer, was not as sensitive as clinicians would like for screening patients. This was why the identification of new biomarkers for the disease would be hugely beneficial.
In parallel with this work, patients will be surveyed about their attitudes to having tissue samples stored. All samples stored will be anonymous and consent will be obtained from patients beforehand.
"Our ultimate hope is that this will result in the improved management of prostate cancer," Prof Hollywood said. This could take a number of years.
The hospitals involved in the collaboration are the Mater, St Vincent's, St James's and St Luke's. Clinicians and scientists from TCD and UCD are also involved.
The research consortium emphasised that neither they nor the patients who gave samples would benefit financially if a breakthrough was made. "We will not benefit except from knowledge," Prof Hollywood said.
A number of tissue samples have already been collected and stored and it is hoped to collect and bank about 300 samples over the next three years.
The Irish Cancer Society has committed more than €500,000 towards the research consortium over the next three years.
Its helpline for anyone concerned about cancer may be reached by phoning 1800 200 700.