Doctors May Spot Which Lesions Likely to Progress to Prostate Cancer
May 2nd, 2008 Posted in prostate cancer preventionA Spanish study has found a way to tell which suspicious prostate lesions are likely to develop into cancer. The conclusions show a link between high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PIN) lesions and the PTOV1 gene. The more PTOV1 the lesion expresses, the more likely cancer will develop. The report also backs the reverse - that the lack of PTOV1 means a reduced risk of prostate cancer.
PTOV1 is a protein that researchers don’t fully understand the function of, but they have previously found too much of it appears to promote the spread of cancer cells.
The findings, published in the May 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, could help men with precancerous lesions avoid unnecessary needle biopsies.
Tags: prostate cancer progress