text_1: Landmark clinical trial shows gene-targeted drug can treat prostate cancer
text_2: This small phase ll study looked at responses to the drug olarparib, and its action on a particular type of prostate tumor mutation. While the news release indicates that this is pioneering work in the field of personalized prostate cancer treatment, there is still much to be skeptical about the practice of isolating cancer-related genes with new targeted drugs. The key point not made in the news release is that the study did not demonstrate any mortality or survival benefit in the act of identifying and targeting men with mutated prostate tumors and giving them olarparib. The news release comes across somewhat as a promotional vehicle for genetic testing and yet comparing it with the test for BRAC (breast cancer susceptibility gene) mutation would tend to give it a gloss it might not deserve. Without results with this form of  “precision medicine,” hyping genetic testing around this type of metastatic prostate cancer feels a little irresponsible. The final line: “Understanding the link between prostate cancer and DNA repair mutations is incredibly important for patients and their families” seems to be putting the cart way before the horse and is likely to confuse and build unreasonable expectations among prostate cancer sufferers. Many men still die from prostate cancer and if there were an easy genetic test that could pinpoint which prostate cancer sufferers were most likely to benefit from a targeted drug therapy this could be a huge advance. The news release presents hype and hope yet one has to refer to the published study to find any real information, where the researchers report: “We cannot yet determine whether olaparib improves overall survival among patients with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer and DNA-repair defects.”