The epigenetic journey to prostate cancer

Investigating the epigenetic evolution of prostate cancer

Epigenetics is the study of how your own behaviours and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work, without changing the DNA sequence itself.

Epigenetic changes affect gene expression by switching genes on or off. Environmental factors that can lead to these changes include diet, exposure to pollutants and even sleep. The effect the environment has on your genes can be seen by looking at twins. Identical twins have exactly the same DNA when they are born but as they get older epigenetic differences start to increase. For example, one study found that epigenetic changes may explain why rheumatoid arthritis can affect one identical twin but not the other.

Rakesh and Charlie will analyse prostates taken from men who are undergoing prostatectomy to identify the epigenetic changes which happen very early in a cancer’s development and lead to aggressive disease. They will then look to see if these changes match with different clinical outcomes like Gleason score or with known subtypes of prostate cancer. The researchers aim to find out whether the epigenetic changes can be used as markers for aggressive disease. The potential markers will be tested in 120 men to see if they can detect aggressive disease at an early stage. Rakesh and Charlie also hope to identify new treatments for prostate cancer and they will grow a ‘prostate-in-a-dish’ to test potential drugs.

https://www.prostate-cancer-research.org.uk/project/epigenetic-journey-to-prostate-cancer/