Source:
Medical Daily16 November 2010 @ 11:41 am EST -
Northwestern Medicine researchers at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University have found that a new, nontoxic drug made from a chemical in soy could prevent the movement of cancer cells from the prostate to the rest of the body.
These findings will be presented at the Ninth Annual American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference.
Genistein, a natural chemical found in soy, is being used in the lab of Raymond Bergan, M.D., the director of experimental therapeutics at the Lurie Cancer Center, to inhibit prostate cancer cells from becoming metastatic and spreading to other parts of the body. So far the cancer therapy drug has worked in preclinical animal studies and now shows benefits in humans with prostate cancer.
A recent phase II randomized study of 38 men with localized prostate cancer found that genistein, when given once a day as a pill, one month prior to surgery, had beneficial effects on prostate cancer cells.
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“All therapies designed to stop cancer cell movement that have been tested to date in humans have basically failed because they have been ineffective or toxic,” Bergan said. “If this drug can effectively stop prostate cancer from moving in the body, theoretically, a similar therapy could have the same effect on the cells of other cancers.”
Read more:
http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20101116/3809/prostate-cancer-spread-may-be-stopped-by-soy.htm
Report of another possible breakthrough...
New treatment tested for prostate cancerUpdated: 3 hrs ago
NBC -- It's estimated that one in six men in the United States will get prostate cancer, but researchers at the University of California San Francisco say a new treatment could make the disease a thing of the past. It's called Provenge. "What Provenge does is it really allows us to stimulate the immune system to really activate and target the cancer," explains Dr. Lawrence Fong.
It works in three stages. First cells from the immune system are drawn from the blood stream. Then they're sent to a lab where they are stimulated and whipped into top shape. Afterwards the cells are put back into the patient's body, where they'll start fighting the cancer. Dr. Fong says it's like sending the immune system to boot camp.
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If successful, doctors hope life will go on for more patients by developing vaccines for every cancer.
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Right now the vaccine is only being used to treat people who have recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and are planning to undergo surgery. Once the trial is over they hope to begin treating men with the vaccine as a preventative measure.
Full article:
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=227365&catid=9Something from the UK I just found...
Discovery could pave way for prostate cancer treatmentA discovery about how prostate cancers occurs could lead to new treatments for the condition, scientists say. Researchers from the Institute of Cancer at Queen Mary University in London found that hormones called androgens promote gene mutations.
Specifically, androgens were found to promote the fusion of separate genes. This mutation, in turn, led to prostate cancer.
The scientists, writing in the journal Cancer Research, said: "The TMPRSS2:ERG fusion, detected in approximately 50 per cent of prostate cancers, is the most common fusion gene found in human malignancies."
"This is a significant discovery and a major breakthrough in the future prevention of the disease," said lead scientist Dr Yong-Jie Lu. "If we can learn how to control and manage androgen levels, there is a strong possibility that we may be able to help thousands of men, especially those known to be at high risk from a family history of prostate cancer, from developing the condition altogether," he added.
Full article:
http://uk.health.lifestyle.yahoo.net/causes-of-prostate-cancer-identified.htm
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