"Our study shows the underlying problem in prostate cancer is the presence of a gene fusion, not the androgen receptor," Chinnaiyan said in the news release. "In many contexts, androgen signaling is actually a good thing, but the presence of the gene fusion blocks androgen receptor signaling, which alters normal prostate cell development. While current treatments for advanced prostate cancer are focused on hormone deprivation and are quite effective, at least initially, future therapies need to be developed that target the prostate cancer gene fusion."
By using high-tech genetic mapping techniques, the research team found that once fusion takes place, androgen receptors get blocked, in turn cutting off normal prostate cell growth while permitting cancer to spread.
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I quote other paragraphs from this study to further our understanding of the revolutionary impact of this study
ReplyDeleteFriday, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- The primary cause of prostate cancer could be the fusion of two genes and the subsequent abnormal prostate cell growth that results when receptors for the hormone androgen get blocked, a new study reveals.
"We need to begin to think about targeting prostate cancer by targeting the gene fusion, and not confining our approaches to androgen receptors," study author Dr. Arul Chinnaiyan, director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, said in a news release. "If we're going to find a more durable therapy, we need to get at the gene fusion."
Chinnaiyan and his colleagues report their findings in the May 18 issue of Cancer Cell.
Dick Gillespie