Cancer cannot be understood as a single, uniform disease. The more we delve into studying each type of tumor, the more we recognize the need to subclassify the disease. This concept has led to what we now call precision oncology, characterizing the molecular features of a patient's specific cancer to determine the most effective treatment.
Prostate cancer is considered the most prevalent tumor among men, and it typically has a high cure rate. As such, although many men will be diagnosed with this cancer, the majority will be cured. "However, when we refer to prostate cancer statistics, we are actually talking about 90% of patients," explains Carracedo, Ikerbasque Research Professor at CIC bioGUNE, member of BRTA. He adds, "About 5–10% of men with prostate cancer present with metastasis at the time of diagnosis, and this variant of the disease behaves more aggressively than the others." In recent years, this form of the disease has begun to be studied separately to better understand it and improve its early diagnosis and treatment. "Prostate cancer that presents initially with metastasis is both a social and public health challenge, despite accounting for just 5% of diagnosed cases, it is responsible for 50% of prostate cancer-related deaths," notes Dr. Miguel Unda, who was Head of Urology at Hospital Universitario de Basurto when the study was conceived and is now an "ad honorem" researcher at IIS Biobizkaia.
In response to this challenge, CIC bioGUNE established a multidisciplinary, multi-regional team of basic, clinical, and computational researchers to molecularly catalogue this aggressive form of the disease. The project began in 2018 with funding from the Asociación Española Contra el Cancer (AECC), involving the study of hundreds of samples using cutting-edge technologies. Dr. Ana Loizaga, participating from Basurto University Hospital, explains that “a detailed analysis of this type of tumor required accessing tissue archives from the past 10 years at Basurto Hospital, in order to obtain a sample size robust enough for analysis. Moreover, we had to innovate within the clinical pathway to ensure that samples extracted from patients could be delivered to CIC bioGUNE within just a few hours.” Dr. Isabel Mendizabal, researcher supported by Ikerbasque and the Fundación Cris contra el Cáncer, co-led the study by advancing the computational approach that allows decomposition of tumors into their cellular components. “Most molecular studies treat the tumor as a homogeneous tissue, which limits our understanding of the disease,” Mendizabal explains. She continues, “In this study, we complemented that approach with new technologies that allow us to analyze each cancer component in isolation, like tasting each fruit in a smoothie individually, instead of guessing the ingredients.”
This study reveals that metastatic prostate cancer represents a biologically distinct entity. The research team discovered that cancer cells in these tumors use a different "language" to communicate with normal cells, altering their behavior in ways that benefit the tumor. “We observed that the aggressiveness of this disease is partly due to how cancer cells 'educate' normal cells, through mechanisms we had not seen before,” Carracedo explains. He continues, “The study we developed, through collaboration among prestigious institutions across Spain, lays the groundwork for future research that will help translate this knowledge into new clinical guidelines for managing this form of prostate cancer.”
The study was led by CIC bioGUNE in collaboration with Basurto University Hospital, Morales Meseguer Hospital in Murcia, and 12 de Octubre Hospital in Madrid, as well as research centers including IRB Barcelona, VHIO, and the Josep Carreras Institute, among others. Dr. Carracedo leads a research group at the Spanish Biomedical Research Network in Oncology (CIBERONC).
Reference: Natalia Martin-Martin, Saioa Garcia-Longarte, Jon Corres-Mendizabal, Uxue Lazcano, Ianire Astobiza, Laura Bozal-Basterra, Nicolas Herranz, Hielke van Splunder, Onintza Carlevaris, Mikel Pujana-Vaquerizo, María Teresa Blasco, Ana M. Aransay, Antonio Rosino, Julian Tudela, Daniel Jimenez, Alberto Martinez, Andrei Salca, Aida Santos-Martín, Sofía Rey, Aitziber Ugalde-Olano, David Gonzalo, Mariona Graupera, Roger R. Gomis, Joaquin Mateo, Miguel Unda, Enrique Gonzalez-Billalabeitia, Ana Loizaga-Iriarte, Isabel Mendizabal & Arkaitz Carracedo. Transcriptional analysis of metastatic hormone-naïve prostate cancer primary tumor biopsies reveals a relevant role for SOX11 in prostate cancer cell dissemination. Genome Biol. DOI: 10.1186/s13059-025-03623-5.
About CIBERONC
CIBERONC (Biomedical Research Networking Center in Oncology) is an initiative of the Carlos III Health Institute in Spain, aimed at promoting collaborative research in the field of cancer. Its primary goal is to improve cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment through coordinated efforts among top-tier scientific groups across the country. By employing a multidisciplinary and innovative strategy, CIBERONC drives advances in translational oncology, bringing laboratory discoveries closer to clinical practice to directly benefit patients.
About CIC bioGUNE
The Centre for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), located in the Bizkaia Technology Park, is a biomedical research organisation conducting cutting-edge research at the interface between structural, molecular and cell biology, with a particular focus on generating knowledge on the molecular bases of disease, for use in the development of new diagnostic methods and advanced therapies.
About Ikerbasque
Ikerbasque - Basque Foundation for Science - is the result of an initiative of the Department of Education of the Basque Government that aims to reinforce the commitment to scientific research by attracting, recovering and consolidating excellent researchers from all over the world. Currently, it is a consolidated organization that has 290 researchers/s, who develop their work in all fields of knowledge.
About BRTA
BRTA is an alliance of 4 collaborative research centres (CIC bioGUNE, CIC nanoGUNE, CIC biomaGUNE y CIC energiGUNE) and 13 technology centres (Azterlan, Azti, Ceit, Cidetec, Gaiker, Ideko, Ikerlan, Leartiker, Lortek, Neiker, Tecnalia, Tekniker y Vicomtech) with the main objective of developing advanced technological solutions for the Basque corporate fabric.
With the support of the Basque Government, the SPRI Group and the Provincial Councils of the three territories, the alliance seeks to promote collaboration between the research centres, strengthen the conditions to generate and transfer knowledge to companies, contributing to their competitiveness and outspreading the Basque scientific-technological capacity abroad.
BRTA has a workforce of 3,500 professionals, executes 22% of the Basque Country's R&D investment, registers an annual turnover of more than 300 million euros and generates 100 European and international patents per year.
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