Puppet-master genes key to fighting prostate cancer

Published on Monday 1 August 2011 15:25

SCOTTISH scientists have discovered "puppet-master" genes involved in the development of prostate cancer which could help lead to new treatments.

Researchers from the Queen's Medical Research Institute in Edinburgh said they had taken a step forward in understanding how prostate cancer grows, with the discovery of several genes that play a role in controlling the development of the disease.

Cancer campaigners said the findings could be used as the "target" for new drugs to tackle the disease - the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the UK. In Scotland, more than 2,700 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year.

The latest research, published in the journal Oncogene, focused on the role of stromal cells in the prostate gland - cells which are present in tumours but are not cancerous. These cells are key in controlling how cancer cells behave and grow.

The scientists used DNA technology to establish which genes became active or inactive as prostate cancer grew.

Lead author of the study, Dr Axel Thomson, said: "Stromal cells are in effect like the puppet-masters of cancer growth and, although not cancerous themselves, they can have a big effect on how tumours grow.

"The new DNA sequencing technology enabled us to look at these cells in the prostate in great detail and identify genes active in the stromal cells which merit further investigation." The researchers used a new DNA technique known as "tag profiling" and compared genes that became active in an embryonic prostate, an adult prostate gland, and prostate cancer itself.

They found that 15 genes were active when prostate cancer began to grow.

When the prostate forms inside a developing embryo, there are many powerful actions taking place which control the growth of the gland.

By finding out which genes were active in both the cancer stromal cells and in the embryonic prostate, the team were able to identify those likely to play an important role in controlling cell growth.

These genes could, eventually, be used to slow down the growth of prostate cancer.

Owen Sharp, chief executive at the Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "This new basic-level research has provided us with some important genetic clues about how prostate cancer grows.

"Through looking at the similarities in cells found in adult prostate tumours with the cells in an embryonic prostate, the researchers have found that it is actually the normal cells of the prostate which are driving and regulating the growth of prostate cancer."

He added: "These results are particularly exciting as they could potentially be used as a target for the development of new drugs and treatments which could help to slow down, or even stop, the progress of the disease."