Dr. Conor Driscoll on the effect of TNF alpha inhibitor use on prostate cancer risk

In this video, Conor Driscoll, MD, discusses the future research and the take-home message from the study, “Long-term tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor use decreases the risk of prostate cancer,” which was presented at the American Urological Association 2023 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Driscoll is a urology resident at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Transcription:

Is further research on this topic planned? If so, what will it focus on?

We're working on the prostate cancer data specifically right now, and what we're doing with Dr. Kundu and myself and Dr. Ross, [we're working with] a test called Decipher. It's a genomic test that a lot of providers apply to prostate biopsy specimens. And basically, we're trying to correlate the molecular signaling of TNF in those Decipher samples, to try to see if there's any correlation between TNF alpha levels, and high-risk/low-risk Decipher, things like that. So that is getting some preliminary results right now.

What is the take-home message of the study for practicing urologist?

I would say that the take-home message of the study is that these immunosuppressive medications have alterations in the microbiology in a lot of these organs and a lot of these tumors. Our thought right now is that prostate cancer is typically theorized to be inflammation driven. And we think that these patients on these medications have decreased inflammation, which is what is decreasing their risk of developing prostate cancer. It's definitely something to keep an eye out for. Patients on these medications may have to be screened differently as our data continue to develop.

This transcript was edited for clarity.