Hope for improved treatments
Scientists at York University believe they may have discovered the clue to what makes prostate cancer grow.
Think of prostate cancer as a weed in a lawn – pull the leaves off and the root still remains, allowing the weed to grow again.
Current therapies for prostate cancer adopt a similar approach. They attack the ‘leaves’, rather than the ‘root’. This can mean that the disease can recur, often within two years.
But Professor Maitland and Dr. Anne Collins have discovered how to isolate the ‘root’ of prostate cancer – the tumour stem cells that make up one in 1,000 cancer cells. These cells appear to ‘drive’ prostate cancer by making surrounding cells turn malignant.
For the first time, these cells have been grown in the laboratory. This means that scientists can now investigate specific ways of killing the ‘roots’ rather than the ‘leaves’ of prostate cancer.
Dr. Chris Hiley, Head of Policy and Research at The Prostate Cancer Charity, says: “The research and discoveries in prostate cancer stem cells are exciting. There is usually a fear that scientists can overstate their findings, but Professor Maitland is a very measured researcher and is clued up about making his findings relevant for patients with prostate cancer. It is very promising.
This is an exciting development because in the long-term it could offer men with prostate cancer a treatment that could give them a definitive all clear. However, like so much science, men should be aware that it will be many years before this research may develop into a treatment doctors can give.”
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