Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated with Prostate Cancer Progression: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: New biomarkers of progression in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) are needed to improve their classification and clinical management. This systematic review investigated the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and PCa progression. METHODS: A keyword search was performed in Pubmed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane for publications between 2007 and 2022. We included articles with adjusted and significant associations, a median follow-up greater than or equal to 24 months, patients taken to radical prostatectomy (RP) as a first therapeutic option, and results presented based on biochemical recurrence (BCR). RESULTS: In the 27 articles selected, 73 SNPs were identified in 39 genes, organized in seven functional groups. Of these, 50 and 23 SNPs were significantly associated with a higher and lower risk of PCa progression, respectively. Likewise, four haplotypes were found to have a significant association with PCa progression. CONCLUSION: This article highlights the importance of SNPs as potential markers of PCa progression and their possible functional relationship with some genes relevant to its development and progression. However, most variants were identified only in cohorts from two countries; no additional studies reproduce these findings.

Social Appropriation of Knowledge About Research in Prostate Cancer with Middle Education Students in Three Colombian Cities.

In Colombia, prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer for incidence and mortality in men, which turns it into a public health problem. For high-risk communities to better understand the usefulness of basic research about PCa, a strategy of social appropriation of knowledge (SAK) in science and cancer was designed and implemented. A pedagogical activity and two tests (a pre-test and a post-test) were applied to middle education students in four schools in three Colombian cities to identify previous knowledge of biology concepts and cancer perceptions. As for biology concepts, there was a statistically significant increase (p < 0.01) in the total results of all questions in the post-test, especially in items related to the structure of DNA, differences between RNA and DNA, and codon. Similarly, better success rates were observed in questions about replication and mutation, and a statistically significant improvement related to the definition of cancer, cancer prevention, and its association with culture or ethnicity (p < 0.01). The results of the open question show what students learned about or were interested in the most, as evidence of the exchange of knowledge in those cities and the social appropriation of knowledge about PCa in Colombia. These findings show that this type of intervention, in diverse social contexts, is essential to improve understanding and perceptions that link school and scientific knowledge to a real problem, such as health and, in this case, cancer.