A telomere test to guide aggressive treatment after rising PSA following prostate surgery
Official title: The telomere biomarker as a tool to inform decision-making for aggressive salvage therapy in men with rising PSA post prostatectomy
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11136865 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether a lab test that measures telomere patterns in prostate tissue can help doctors choose which men with rising PSA after prostate removal should get added hormone therapy with salvage radiation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | August 22, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $534,909 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA279594-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11136865 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are men with a rising PSA after radical prostatectomy who are considering salvage radiation with or without added anti-androgen therapy and who have available archived tumor tissue.
✕Less likely to help
Men without a rising PSA after surgery, men already metastatic, or those without available tumor tissue are unlikely to be included or helped by this specific research effort.
What this research studies
Researchers will measure telomere patterns (short DNA end pieces) in tumor and nearby noncancerous tissue from men whose PSA rose after prostatectomy. They will analyze samples and outcomes from a completed randomized trial (RTOG 9601) and from clinical cohorts, totaling 839 men and 165 metastatic events. The telomere biomarker combines cancer cell-to-cell telomere variability and stromal telomere length, which was previously linked to worse outcomes but not tested for predicting treatment benefit. The goal is to see if the test identifies who truly benefits from adding anti-androgen therapy so treatment can be personalized.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the test could help spare men unnecessary hormone therapy and its side effects while directing aggressive treatment to those most likely to benefit.
How similar studies have gone: Prior trials showed that adding anti-androgen therapy can help some men, and the telomere biomarker was previously linked to prognosis, but using it to predict who benefits from added therapy is a new approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Meeker, Alan Keith — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Meeker, Alan Keith
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.