U-M finds prostate cancer culprit
Medical researchers at the University of Michigan have identified a likely cause of prostate cancer they say could lead to more effective treatments and possibly a cure.
Scientists have discovered a recurring pattern of scrambled chromosomes that causes certain genes to merge -- an abnormal gene activity occurring only in prostate cancer, the leading cancer diagnosis for men in the United States. An estimated 232,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be reported this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
Identifying the specific genes involved may now lead to a new, more accurate test -- of the blood or urine -- to detect prostate cancer, and possibly more effective methods of treatment, said Dr. Arul M. Chinnaiyan, the U-M pathology professor who directed the research. The closer medical researchers are to nailing down a cause, the closer they are to finding its cure, he said.
"We'd like to think it's the first step," he said. "A lot of work still needs to be done."
While similar forms of the abnormal gene activity have been detected in "liquid" cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, this is the first evidence it's occurred in solid tumors like prostate cancer. The finding also suggests similar gene activity may be involved in the development of other soft-tissue cancers such as cancer of the breast, lung, ovaries and colon.
The study's results were published Thursday in Science Magazine.
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Saturday, October 29, 2005
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Dr. Arul M. Chinnaiyan, University of Michigan
U-M finds prostate cancer culprit
Medical researchers at the University of Michigan have identified a likely cause of prostate cancer they say could lead to more effective treatments and possibly a cure.
Scientists have discovered a recurring pattern of scrambled chromosomes that causes certain genes to merge -- an abnormal gene activity occurring only in prostate cancer, the leading cancer diagnosis for men in the United States. An estimated 232,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be reported this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
Identifying the specific genes involved may now lead to a new, more accurate test -- of the blood or urine -- to detect prostate cancer, and possibly more effective methods of treatment, said Dr. Arul M. Chinnaiyan, the U-M pathology professor who directed the research. The closer medical researchers are to nailing down a cause, the closer they are to finding its cure, he said.
"We'd like to think it's the first step," he said. "A lot of work still needs to be done."
While similar forms of the abnormal gene activity have been detected in "liquid" cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, this is the first evidence it's occurred in solid tumors like prostate cancer. The finding also suggests similar gene activity may be involved in the development of other soft-tissue cancers such as cancer of the breast, lung, ovaries and colon.
The study's results were published Thursday in Science Magazine.
Your tax dollars saving lives
U-M finds prostate cancer culprit
Medical researchers at the University of Michigan have identified a likely cause of prostate cancer they say could lead to more effective treatments and possibly a cure.
Scientists have discovered a recurring pattern of scrambled chromosomes that causes certain genes to merge -- an abnormal gene activity occurring only in prostate cancer, the leading cancer diagnosis for men in the United States. An estimated 232,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be reported this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
Identifying the specific genes involved may now lead to a new, more accurate test -- of the blood or urine -- to detect prostate cancer, and possibly more effective methods of treatment, said Dr. Arul M. Chinnaiyan, the U-M pathology professor who directed the research. The closer medical researchers are to nailing down a cause, the closer they are to finding its cure, he said.
"We'd like to think it's the first step," he said. "A lot of work still needs to be done."
While similar forms of the abnormal gene activity have been detected in "liquid" cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, this is the first evidence it's occurred in solid tumors like prostate cancer. The finding also suggests similar gene activity may be involved in the development of other soft-tissue cancers such as cancer of the breast, lung, ovaries and colon.
The study's results were published Thursday in Science Magazine.
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