Whenever we take a drug, whether it's in injectable or an oral drug it must be cleared from our bodies otherwise it can become toxic to us. Unfortunately, our ability to clear drugs varies from individual to individual. These different abilities are often related to genetic differences we each have from one another. Doing of [...]
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center found in a genome-wide analysis of 13 men with metastatic prostate cancer that there were consistent epigenetic "signatures" or “marks” across all metastatic tumors in each of the subject men. The discovery contradicts the current belief that epigenetic marks that sit on the nuclear DNA of cancer [...]
Genomic Health, Inc. has announced they have had positive results from a large clinical validation study of a biopsy-based prostate cancer test designed to predict adverse pathology in men with early prostate cancer. The study, performed in collaboration with prostate cancer researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), met its primary endpoint by [...]
Men who inherit a mutation in the HOXB13 gene have a 10 to 20 times increased risk of developing prostate cancer, according to the study in the January 12, 2012 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Finally, the first major gene mutation associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer has been identified. [...]
It is estimated that in the United States 200,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer each year with approximately 20% to 30% having clinically aggressive prostate cancer. When diagnosed the standard is to consider factors such as Gleason score and tumor stage to assess a man’s prognosis, however there are no biomarkers to identify [...]
Genetic counseling is common place in the world of breast cancer including the evaluation of the BRCA genes. Prostate and breast cancer increasingly been shown to have a relationship, perhaps all the down to the genetic level. Researchers are now understanding, that like in breast cancer, BRCA1 loss preexisting in small sub-populations of prostate cancer [...]
The American Association of Cancer Researchers (AACR) is in the midst of its annual scientific research meeting in Denver Colorado. As interesting prostate cancer specific information becomes available I will try and share the news. One of the biggest concerns we face in prostate cancer is in deciding when a cancer needs to be treated. [...]
