Who is this relevant for?
- Pharmaceutical buyers sourcing shortage medicines
A large-scale Mendelian randomisation study has identified plasma protein biomarkers linked to risk for bladder, prostate, renal cell, and testicular cancers. The research, integrating proteomic and genomic data from FinnGen and UK Biobank, points to causal protein targets that could serve both as risk markers and as candidates for drug repurposing.
Four protein markers were associated with bladder cancer, including PSCA (increased risk) and GSTM1, GSTM3, GSTM4 (decreased risk). For prostate cancer, 15 markers emerged: seven linked to higher risk (e.g., AGER, SERPINA3) and eight to lower risk (e.g., MSMB, SOD2). Colocalisation analysis strengthened evidence for GSTM4 in bladder cancer and SOD2 and CHMP2B in prostate cancer.
Notably, seven of these proteins have already been targeted by drugs developed for other malignancies and immune conditions. That opens a path for repurposing existing therapies into urological oncology — a faster route than de novo drug development.
The findings also support biomarker-driven risk stratification, enabling earlier identification of high-risk patients. For pharmaceutical buyers and supply chain operators, the repurposing angle is the most immediate signal: drugs already approved for other indications may find new use in urological cancers, potentially shifting demand patterns for those active pharmaceutical ingredients.
But the study’s value extends beyond repurposing. The causal protein targets represent validated starting points for new drug discovery programmes. Companies with an existing portfolio in oncology or immunology should examine whether their assets align with the identified targets.