PRO-NEST researchers started by improving knowledge and understanding of the events responsible for the evolution of prostate cancer. For example, the team studied changes in genes, looked at sub-populations of cancer cells, and investigated how to translate basic cancer research into practical applications that could benefit patients.

Notably, the project team helped identify novel prostate cancer ‘biomarkers’, molecules that indicate the presence of the disease. These biomarkers show DNA mutations (permanent changes) that transform healthy cells into cancer cells. The researchers evaluated these biomarkers and then validated their potential in the diagnosis and therapy of prostate cancer.  According to the PRO-NEST team, “more research is needed, but this development could help provide valuable information to doctors in detecting the condition early on.”

“We have identified proteins that may support in predicting the evolution of prostate cancer,” says project coordinator Guido Jenster, professor of Urology at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. “Progress such as this might ultimately result in the improved diagnosis, outlook, treatment and prevention of this devastating disease,” he adds.

The PRO-NEST project had a training focus as well. Several top academic and industry leaders from nine European countries helped supervise the training of 24 Marie Curie research fellows.

Through individual research assignments combined with training workshops, network meetings and visits to partner laboratories, the researchers were trained to become well-rounded scientists and team leaders in prostate cancer research.

Several fellows have found positions at outstanding institutes in academia and industry such as the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre and the Dutch Prostate Cancer Molecular Medicine (PCMM) project – a public-private partnership supported by the Centre for Translational Molecular Medicine in Eindhoven.