Novel single-cell and spatial biotechnologies have revolutionized profiling of tissues and revealed findings that challenge our current understanding of prostate tumor formation. Our recent efforts to profile genetic changes in cancer cells unexpectedly discovered shared genetic changes in nearby normal-appearing prostate tissues. These results strongly suggest that these tissue areas represent a pre-cancer state. It is not known how often these genetic changes are found in healthy prostate tissues and if they represent pre-cancers that can be screened to prevent prostate tumor formation. The aim of this project is to analyze precancer and cancer prostate samples to better understand these genetic changes in humans. This knowledge will increase our understanding of how prostate cancers form, which will lead to improvements in early detection, prevention, and diagnosis of prostate cancers.

2024

2028