In a new study, researchers found a new way to predict the risk of cancer metastasis in men with prostate cancer.
This method could help men with the high risk of metastasis get earlier testing, surveillance and treatment.
The research was conducted by a team from Yale School of Medicine.
Previous research has shown that about in 90% of men with prostate cancer, cancer remains localized to the primary site.
Their five-year survival rate is almost 100%.
However, the remaining 10% of patients may develop locally invasive and metastatic disease.
In the current study, the team analyzed tissue specimens from 89 men with prostate cancer.
They found that a protein could help identify patients at a higher risk of metastasis.
The protein is called syntaphilin (SNPH). It is a key determinant of the balance between tumor cell proliferation and tumor cell invasion.
The team found that the protein has a lower presence within the prostate tumor’s central core versus at the tumor’s invasive outer edge.
This difference was stronger in more advanced tumors.
Moreover, the central tumor SNPH measures were much lower in 16 patients with metastases compared to patients without metastases.
The team suggests that this protein is linked to an increased risk of metastatic disease.
They suggest that the SNPH test needs to be included in prostate cancer prognosis.
One author of the study is Marie E. Robert, MD, of the Department of Pathology.
The study is published in The American Journal of Pathology.
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