Research on Prostate Cancer Identifies Growth Triggers

Researchers at the University of Michigan have announced that they have discovered a family of what is called " on switches" that cause prostate cancer.

It is another result of genetic research that shows that gene fusions trigger cancer growth. The results of this research could have an impact on future treatments.

The research lead to the discovery that pieces of two chromosomes can trade places with each other and thereby cause two genes to fuse together. These fused genes override what is called an off switch which is what keeps cells from going into the uncontrolled growth that causes prostate cancer to develop.

They have tested these gene fusion in both mice and in cell cultures and these tests have shown that the fusions are the cause of prostate cancer. It is not one set of genes involved either. It is almost a whole family of genes that have the ability to become fused

.Since each of the gene fusions come from different molecular subtypes, it proves that there is more than one type of prostate cancer and therefore prostate cancer is a much more complex disease than was previously thought and gives strong evidence that each patient needs to be treated differently.

The importance of this discovery cannot be overstated. Because of this research, they will be able to identify which gene fusion is responsible or each and every patient's cancer and that will affect the treatment options available. For instance, if they find that an androgen-regulated gene is involved, then they would be able to use anti-androgen therapy. If it comes from a gene that represses androgen, the anti-androgen therapy could increase the cancer's growth. In the past it has been shown shown that androgen treatment is not effective for all prostate cancers. And now they know why.

Gene fusion has been known to play a part in other types of cancers , all of them blood cell cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, and in Ewing's sarcoma. It was this discovery that led to the development of the drug Gleevec, which has led to greatly improved survival rates for chronic myelogenous leukemia