subject: Biomarkers help provide breakthrough in prostate cancer research [print this page] Biomarkers help provide breakthrough in prostate cancer research
Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in British men, with around 37,000 people diagnosed with the disease every single year. According to the Prostate Cancer Charity, around 250,000 men across Britain are now living with the disease. Depending on the patient, prostate cancer can grow slowly or alternatively can be extremely aggressive.
Important new developments are being made in the world of cancer research all the time, and biomarkers are playing an extremely important role. Results of new research released this week show that biomarkers have helped to provide a breakthrough into prostate cancer research.
Researchers working for Metamark Genetics Inc in Massachusetts have managed to find a group of four biomarkers that are capable of predicting biochemical recurrence and metastasis in patients who are suffering from prostate cancer. The work has managed to provide information on which tumours are most likely to turn lethal, according to a report by medical publication Nursing Spectrum. The research could help doctors to understand which tumours require aggressive treatment at the earliest possible stage. Making sure patients receive the most suitable treatment as soon as possible can make a major difference.
Ronald DePinho is a co-founder of Metamark and one of the researchers involved in the study. He said that human prostate cancers are extremely complex when you get down to a cellular and genomic level. This makes it difficult to find out which biomarkers are able to predict the most aggressive and dangerous forms of the disease. An aggressive tumour, which is left untreated, can spread to other areas of the body and this of course will lead on to other problems and complications. The four new biomarkers have the potential to let doctors know which patients are at high risk of death, enabling them to administer the most suitable treatment.
The company's chief scientific officer, Peter Blume-Jensen, said the findings of the research represent a "landmark breakthrough" when it comes to gaining knowledge and understanding of the proteins that are critical for aggressive varieties of prostate cancer in humans.
He went on to say that the findings of the study are likely to have major implications and will help medical professionals to improve prognoses and treatments for people suffering from prostate cancer.
There is no doubt that biomarkers will continue to play a key role in prostate cancer research, and that a growing biomarkers database will only help to make future breakthroughs more achievable.
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