Advancements Offer Hope in Diagnosing Aggressive Form of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer occurs when the cells of the prostate begin to grow uncontrollably. It is the most common non-skin cancer in America, affecting about 17 percent of men, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The greater a man’s age, the greater his likelihood becomes of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Only about 1 in 10,000 men under the age of 40 will develop the disease, while the rate soars to 1 in 38 for men between the ages of 40 to 59. The rate increases again to 1 in 15 for men ages 60 to 69. However, over 65 percent of all prostate cancers occur in men beyond the age of 65. However, with early detection and treatment, the cure rate for prostate cancer is 90 percent.

Among the many treatments currently available for prostate cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, cyrosurgery and effective combinations of these as well as other procedures. Research continues to focus on finding new ways to effectively diagnose and differentiate between forms of prostate cancer to assist in determining appropriate treatment methods. Recently, U.S. scientists have made advancements in the development of a simple urine test that can distinguish between the benign and aggressive forms of prostate cancer. The study can be found in the journal Nature.

Because differentiating between slow progressing and rapid growing prostate cancers can be difficult, some patients may undergo unnecessary surgery or radiation treatment. However, a group of molecules has now been identified as being produced by the body in the presence of the aggressive form of prostate cancer. With the ability to test for the existence of these molecules, doctors could be able to determine if a patient has an aggressive form of disease and respond with aggressive treatment.

Researchers from the University of Michigan analyzed 1,126 molecules produced by the body in a total of 262 samples of tissue, blood and urine. They identified approximately 10 molecules, or metabolites, to be present most often in samples taken from patients with advanced cancer. One metabolite, known as sarcosine, was frequently found at elevated levels in samples taken from patients with advanced cancer, was not present in samples taken from healthy tissue. Sarcosine was found to be a better indicator of advanced disease than PSA.

These results suggest that sarcosine is linked to the spread of cancer and may be a target for new drugs. According to lead researcher Professor Arul Chinnaiyan, “One of the biggest challenges we face in prostate cancer is determining if the cancer is aggressive. We end up over-treating our patients because physicians don't know which tumors will be slow-growing. With this research, we have identified a potential marker for the aggressive tumors.” The researchers noted that development is in the early stages, and a test could be as long as five years away.

More than 186,000 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in this year alone. The American Cancer Society recommends that beginning at the age of 50 years, men should have both the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) performed annually. However, African American men as well as men who have a high risk of developing prostate cancer, such as men with family members (parents, siblings and children) who have been diagnosed with the disease at an early age should begin annual testing at age 45.