Precision Medicine in Prostate Cancer Symposium educates local residents
Mays Cancer Center Annual Report
On March 2, 2019, 175 community members attended a Precision Medicine in Prostate Cancer Symposium in the Holly Auditorium on the main campus of UT Health San Antonio.
The symposium was presented in conjunction with the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center; the Department of Urology at UT Health San Antonio; and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
The free event was open to the public and attended by prostate cancer survivors and community members interested in prostate cancer screening.
Robin J. Leach, Ph.D., professor and chief of the Division of Research in the Department of Urology, said many attendees are participants in the San Antonio Center of Biomarkers of Risk for Prostate Cancer (SABOR) study, a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Early Detection Research Network.
In collaboration with MUSC, which holds a U54 grant from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities in conjunction with the NCI, Dr. Leach and her team are educating community members and SABOR participants on how biomarkers can improve the early detection of this common disease.
At the symposium, prostate cancer experts shared information on early detection, environmental risk factors, genetic risk factors and preventive treatments. Attendees listened to presentations from four experts and asked questions after each presentation.
Michael A. Liss, M.D., M.A.S., FACS, associate professor of urology, discussed “Linking Gut Bacteria to Prostate Cancer Risk.” Dr. Leach spoke on “Detecting Prostate Cancer in Men with Low PSA.”
Chethan Ramamurthy, M.D., assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, discussed “Cancer in Families: Hereditary Genetics of Cancer.” Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., adjoint professor with UT Health and president of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Medical Center Hospital, addressed the “Prevention of Prostate Cancer with Finasteride: The Final Story.”
Since 2001, SABOR has enrolled more than 4,000 men. Those who have not been diagnosed with prostate cancer receive regular prostate cancer screenings at clinics in San Antonio and South Texas. During the clinic visit, the men provide biological specimens and are tested for elevated prostate specific antigens (PSA) in their serum.
“This study is helping us to offer state-of-the-art biomarkers for the early detection of prostate cancer; many of which rely on precision medicine approaches,” she said. “These markers are key to informed decision making so that men can better decide, along with their doctors, on how to proceed with their treatment if diagnosed with prostate cancer.”
A Modifiable Risk Factors for Cancer Symposium will be scheduled in later 2020. This symposium will focus on the non-genetic factors of cancer risk, including obesity, stress, and diet.
