Prostate cancer has been found to have five distinctively different types according to a new study published in EBio Medicine. This discovery suggests that different treatments could be targeted to help patients, as doctors can now identify which tumors are more likely to grow and multiply.
Researchers from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge institute tested 482 prostate cancer tumor samples, both benign and germline, from 259 men. The samples were analyzed for genetic differences that would allow the researchers to categorize patients into subgroups.
Prostate cancer can be split into 5 distinct 'types' – our bloggers look at what this means for patients: http://t.co/kUu5EDdiPq
— Cancer Research UK (@CR_UK) July 30, 2015
Instead of slight differences, five noticeably different types of prostate cancer were discovered based on 100 genes. Previously, only six of the genes were able to be linked to prostate cancer, but researchers have now linked the other 94 to the disease.
“The challenge in treating prostate cancer is that it can either behave like a pussycat — growing slowly and unlikely to cause problems in a man’s lifetime — or a tiger, spreading aggressively and requiring urgent treatment,” said Professor Malcolm Mason in a recent press release. Mason is a prostate cancer expert at Cancer Research UK. “But at the moment we have no reliable way to distinguish them. This means that some men may get treatment they don’t need, causing unnecessary side effects, while others might benefit from more intensive treatment.”
Professor Mason also commented on the potential of the new discovery.
“This research could be game-changing if the results hold up in larger clinical trials and could give us better information to guide each man’s treatment — even helping us to choose between treatments for men with aggressive cancers. Ultimately this could mean more effective treatment for the men who need it, helping to save more lives and improve the quality of life for many thousands of men with prostate cancer.”
The study further shows that this form of analysis was much more accurate than regular tests used by doctors (including the prostate specific antigen [PSA] test) at identifying the more aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
Dr. Alastair Lamb, one the study’s researchers and a professor at the University of Cambridge, says that the findings still need to be confirmed.
“The next step is to confirm these results in bigger studies and drill down into the molecular ‘nuts and bolts’ of each specific prostate cancer type. By carrying out more research into how the different diseases behave, we might be able to develop more effective ways to treat prostate cancer patients in the future, saving more lives.”
Congratulations to Dr Lamb & team new research findings for prostate cancer,stepping towards stratifying patients so they get best treatment
— CRUK Cambridge (@CRUKCambridge) July 30, 2015
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men in the United States (falling just below skin cancer) according to the American Cancer Society. It is estimated that in 2015, about 220,800 new cases are to be diagnosed, and approximately 27,540 men will die from the disease. About 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in his life.
[Image via Nephron/Wikimedia Commons]
Prostate Cancer Has Five Types, New Treatments Likely is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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