: Key Genes Could Reduce Prostate Tumor Growth
A study into prostate cancer has potentially found a way of
slowing down the growth of the disease.
A research team, funded by Prostate Cancer UK and the Medical
Research Council, has found that turning on certain genes within
prostate tumours can slow growth of the disease.
Using mice, researchers turned on key genes inside "fibroblast"
cells in tumours, which then dramatically reduced their size.
Although further research is now needed to confirm that this
approach has the same effect on prostate cancers in humans, the
results could lead to a revolution in the treatment of the
potentially terminal illness in the future.
Lead researcher, Dr Axel Thomson, said: "This is an extremely
exciting development that has the potential to form the basis of a
revolution in prostate cancer treatments over time if replicated in
humans." Prostate cancer makes up one in four of all male cancers,
making it the most common cancer in men in Wales.
Most prostate cancer is slow-growing to start with and may never
cause any problems or symptoms in a man's lifetime, with many
patients only experiencing symptoms when it is already advanced or
has spread to a secondary site.
The study's findings, published today in the Disease Models and
Mechanisms journal, are part of an ongoing body of research
exploring how the environment surrounding cancer cells affects
This latest study builds on growing evidence which suggests that
the non-cancerous fibroblast cells within prostate tumours could be
a key target for successful treatments. Dr Ian Lewis, associate
director of research at Tenovus, said the research could have the
potential to develop treatments for a variety of cancers.
He said: "This research is particularly interesting as it could
have implications for the way we look at treating other cancers too,
by specifically targeting the non-cancerous cells that interact with
the cancerous cells rather than the cancerous cells themselves.
"However, this is still relatively early work and they would still
need to determine if the effect can be replicated in real patients.
Until then it is vitally important that men are aware of the
symptoms of prostate cancer and seek advice and support from their
GP if they have any concerns."
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