Keeping Prostate Cancer at Bay

[Angel]

One of the most important pieces of information in determining a cancer treatment approach is knowing whether or not it is likely to return. For prostate cancer patients, there may be a new way to figure this out more accurately.

Generally, doctors turn to the lymph nodes for their determination of whether cancer has spread and if it is likely to come back. The standard approach is to look at the lymph nodes under a microscope at the time the prostate is removed. Unfortunately, many patients whose lymph nodes appear negative have their cancer recur.

Previous studies indicated it may be possible to reduce the risk of progression and improve survival with immediate therapy in patients whose cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. Therefore, accurate detection may be vital to the survival of many patients.

Now, doctors from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles say there's a better way. They looked for "hidden" cancer cells with a test able to detect cancer on a cellular level. Researchers say it is more sensitive than any other clinical, pathological or radiographic techniques currently available. The test searches for antibodies to cytokeratins and prostate specific antigen, or PSA.

After analyzing their results, researchers determined those patients who had hidden tumor cells in the lymph nodes had a greater risk of recurrence and decreased survival as compared to those patients who showed no signs of remaining tumor cells based on the new test.

Researchers believe these findings will have a profound effect on the way adjuvant therapy if administered to patients following prostate surgery.