Oxford Population Health: 12 blood proteins linked to prostate cancer diagnosed over 15 years later

Researchers at Oxford Population Health measured more than 6,000 proteins in blood samples and linked several of them to the later development of prostate cancer, including aggressive disease. The study was published in European Urology and presented at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Annual Meeting, according to eurekalert.org eurekalert.orgeurekalert.orgeurekalert.orgOpen source ↗. The authors describe it as the largest population-based investigation to date of blood proteins and future prostate cancer risk.

Study design and main associations

The team analysed blood samples from 982 men who subsequently developed prostate cancer and from a randomly selected sample of 1,573 men in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Participants were followed for around 16 years.

Twelve proteins were linked to prostate cancer diagnosed more than 15 years after the blood draw. One of them, GZMK, is produced by immune cells that recognise and destroy abnormal cells. The authors suggest that immune processes may help keep prostate cancer in check long before diagnosis.

Seven proteins were linked to aggressive prostate cancer. One of them, ANKRD1, was consistently associated with several serious forms of the disease, including cancers that had spread or were ultimately fatal. Other findings pointed to processes in how cancer cells interact with surrounding tissue and how new blood vessels form eurekalert.orgeurekalert.orgeurekalert.orgOpen source ↗.

Known driver genes and limitations

Blood levels of proteins produced by genes already known to matter in prostate cancer, including ERBB3, KRAS and NRAS, were linked to aggressive cancer diagnosed around a decade later. The authors state that this does not mean cancer was already present when the blood was collected.

The researchers compared their results with other large population studies and genetic evidence. Several findings were supported by these analyses, but not all could be confirmed. The proteins are not yet suitable for clinical tests: most associations were modest, and further studies are needed to establish whether they could improve prediction of clinically significant prostate cancer.

Cancer Research UK part-funded the work. Further research within its Prostate Cancer Aetiology and Prevention Programme (PCAP) will examine whether the findings could contribute to better prediction or prevention of the disease eurekalert.orgeurekalert.orgeurekalert.orgOpen source ↗. The paper, "Circulating immune and cancer driver gene biomarkers precede prostate cancer diagnosis by over ten years", was scheduled for oral presentation at the ASHG meeting in Montreal on 21 October 2026 and for a poster session on 22 October.