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August 20007 Volume 1 #2
 Prostate problem primer Prostate awareness and Rider pride Molecule helps predict PCa outcome Prostate Cancer Conference 2007 • SUBSCRIBE • contact the editor • visit the cpcn website |
Molecule helps predict prostate cancer outcome  In August 2007, researchers at the Mayo Clinic reported having identified an immune molecule (B7-H3) that "appears to play a role in prostate cancer development and in predicting cancer recurrence and progression " after treatment.The study, published in Cancer Research, examines the connection between high levels of B7-H3 and a poor prostate cancer prognosis or outcome. Nearly all prostate cells, whether normal, pre-malignant, or cancerous, have this molecule on their surface. But tumour cells always and often increasingly display B7-H3 as prostate cancer develops, even after anti-hormone therapy -- the most common treatment for advanced prostate cancer. "Because B7-H3 is present in all prostate cancer tumours, and marked levels predict recurrence, we are able to forecast with much greater certainty the likelihood of cancer progression, regardless of therapeutic intervention," reports Eugene Kwon, Mayo Clinic urologist and senior investigator. What Mayo researchers discovered was that patients with the highest levels of B7-H3 within their prostate tumours (19.8 per cent) were over four times more likely to experience cancer progression than those with weak levels of B7-H3. Also, moderate levels of the molecule correlated with a slightly higher risk of recurrence (35 per cent). The estimated survival rates at five years after surgery were 55 per cent for patients with high B7-H3, 86 per cent for those with moderate B7-H3, and 92.1 per cent for patients with tumours of weak B7-H3 intensity. This research may have significant implications. Currently, the most used molecule for diagnosing and assessing the growth of prostate cancer is the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). But, unlike B7-H3, PSA tends to leave prostate cancer cells and wander through the body. Because B7-H3 sticks with prostate cancer cells and does not appear to migrate, it may be a particularly useful "target" for therapy. Hopes are high for the future. "This discovery will allow physicians to individualize treatment and observation plans for prostate cancer patients," reports Timothy Roth, lead author of the study. "Being able to tell a patient his specific risk after surgery, and perhaps even prior to surgery, will be a huge step forward." Read the Mayo Clinic press release. Access the article in Cancer Research, vol. 67, no. 16, 7893--7900. Read "Molecule that predicts course of prostate cancer discovered" from the CBC. |
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