Biotechnology revolutionizes early detection of prostate cancer, the incidence of which could increase by 35% in the next few years

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men worldwide, affecting one in eight men in their lifetime. In the case of Spain, prostate cancer ranks first among the most frequently diagnosed cancers in men. According to the report “Cancer figures in Spain”, prepared by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), more than 30,300 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in Spain in 2024.

It is uncommon for prostate cancer to affect men under 40 years of age, but the probability of developing prostate cancer increases rapidly after the age of 50. About six out of 10 cases of prostate cancer are detected in men over the age of 65. Forecasts suggest that there could be an increase of up to 35% in the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the next 10-15 years as a result of the aging of the population.

Prostate cancer causes around 6,000 deaths a year in our country, although survival has improved significantly in recent years thanks to early detection. In this sense, biotechnology is fundamental in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of prostate cancer, and plays a broad role in the entire spectrum of patient care, which we analyze today on the occasion of World Prostate Cancer Day, celebrated this June 11, through the work of two of our partners: Life Length and Quibim.

ProsTAV® allows a stratification of the risk of developing prostate cancer.

Life Length is a Spanish biotechnology company, a world leader in telomere measurement and related assays, which has developed and owns an exclusive and patented high-throughput technology called TAT® (Telomere Analysis Technology®).

Life Length, S.L.'s telomere measurement technology represents a useful novelty in the diagnosis of prostate cancer as it has been demonstrated, and could also be useful in other types of cancer, in order to make an adequate prevention and health promotion.

"When we talk about prostate cancer, early detection is crucial. To facilitate this, we have developed a non-invasive test called ProsTAV®, which helps to detect the likelihood of prostate cancer, avoiding the need for procedures such as biopsies,” the biotechnology company explains. 

ProsTAV® is a new specific diagnostic tool that is included in the Common Services Portfolio of the National Health System (SNS). It is an in vitro diagnostic medical device that uses an advanced algorithm to analyze the risk of prostate cancer. This method is based on the relationship between certain genetic markers, known as telomeric profiles, and the probability of having significant prostate cancer, specifically in patients with PSA levels between 3 and 10 ng/ml. This test offers three types of results:

• ProsTAV score: a score indicating overall risk.
• Gleason probability ≥ 7: an assessment of the risk of having a moderately aggressive prostate cancer.
• Gleason Probability ≥ 8: an assessment of the risk of having highly aggressive prostate cancer.

"If the ProsTAV® result is greater than 10%, the physician may consider a confirmatory biopsy necessary. This allows us to better identify those patients who really need a biopsy and, importantly, to discriminate in a very rigorous way those patients whose biopsy is not necessary, given their low risk of PC. This reduces the number of unnecessary biopsies by one third, thereby reducing direct healthcare costs. ProsTAV® provides a simpler, faster and more convenient procedure for patients,” they conclude.

QP-Prostate, an AI-based solution for detecting prostate cancer at early stages

Biotechnology is crucial in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of prostate cancer. From improvements in image processing and the aid of artificial intelligence in detecting prostate cancer lesions to new types of imaging modalities to identify cancer cells and their spread, to its role in the development of new therapies. Biotechnology plays a broad role across the entire spectrum of prostate cancer patient care. A field in which Quibim, a company dedicated to the design and creation of pioneering tools that unlock imaging data to maximize drug programs and improve patients' quality of life, stands out.

“At Quibim we have developed QP-Prostate, a solution based on artificial intelligence to detect prostate cancer in early stages, which has benefited more than 5,000 patients in different healthcare centers where it has been installed since its launch in December 2023,” they explain.

"By automatically assessing image quality, segmenting the prostate gland, and identifying suspicious lesions thanks to an AI model trained on thousands of prostate biopsy and MRI data, QP-Prostate enables radiologists to make more accurate and efficient diagnoses, contributing to improved patient care. In the near future, the tool will also incorporate predictive and prognostic tools, as well as the detection of complex anatomic areas such as neurovascular bundles,” they conclude.