Prostate cancer affects hundreds of thousands of men in the US every year, causing tens of thousands of deaths. A recent finding by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles may have made a discovery that will change that.The Prostate Cancer Foundation reports that the scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have found the cell of origin, which is the type of cell that brings about the cancer. This finding can lead to better predictive and diagnostic tools for the disease, as well as new and more effective treatments.Previously, it was a common belief that luminal cells found in the prostate were behind the cancer because of their similarities to the cancers. However, the researchers found that basal cells were the culprits. They found that in mice with suppressed immune systems, the basal cells found in benign prostate tissue can form into human prostate cancer.In finding this cell of origin, researchers are closer to identifying the process a normal cell undergoes to form into cancer. The findings can help doctors get to the cancer when it begins.According to UCLA graduate student and first author of the study Andrew Goldstein, There are very few examples of taking benign cells and turning them into cancer experimentally This study resulted in the creation of a novel model system that is highly adaptable.By starting with healthy cells and turning them into cancer, we can study the cancer development process, he added. The new model has the potential to lead to breakthroughs in treatments.The study appears in the peer-reviewed journal Science.
CONTRIBUTE TO THIS STORY
