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News
2013
- Author: Admin
- Category: In the news
Each year around 41,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK and around 11,000 die from the disease.
A recent article in the Daily Mail highlights a study conducted with the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and published in the journal Oncogene which has established that a single protein can be used to distinguish aggressive prostate cancer from that which can be managed. Much higher levels of the protein, NAALADL2, were found in prostate tumour tissue than in healthy tissue but the difference was especially marked in aggressive cancers and those already advancing around the body.
Scientists hope the discovery will revolutionise treatment of the disease by showing early on whether patients face a deadly threat or can afford to wait and see how their condition progresses. Patients with low levels of the protein were more likely to qualify for ‘watchful waiting’ monitoring, which simply involves keeping a close eye on how the disease progresses.
Professor Malcolm Mason, a prostate cancer expert from Cancer Research UK, which funded the research, said: ‘As a prostate cancer clinician, I have been waiting for years for a test that can define the aggressive disease. I hope that this research brings forward the day when I can say to patients: “We know that your cancer doesn’t need treatment”- a crucial development that could spare thousands of patients from enduring arduous treatment with unpleasant side effects.
Read the full article here
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