According to Miami urologist Dr. George Suarez, researchers in the U.K. have discovered that there are actually five different types of prostate cancer. They report that these five dissimilar types of prostate cancer can be differentiated from one another and result in more targeted treatment for patients.
Some prostate cancer key statistics:
- Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death among men.
- Second only to skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men.
- Your Miami urologist reports that approximately 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
- Prostate cancer mainly occurs in older men, with approximately 6 in 10 cases being diagnosed in men aged 65 or older. It is far less common for men under the age of 40 to suffer from prostate cancer.
- The average age of diagnosis is 66 years old.
- In 2015, it is estimated that there will be more than 27,500 deaths from prostate cancer.
The analysis is more effective at predicting how prostate cancer will advance compared to the current diagnostic tests being used by your Miami urologist, such as the prostate specific antigen test (PSA) and the Gleason score.
The study involved over 250 men who were suffering from prostate cancer. Researchers analyzed their samples and examined them for genetic differences. They then categorized participants into groups regarding targeted treatments specific to their type of prostate cancer. What they found was more than just minor differences in the tumors.
They actually found five different kinds of prostate cancer, based on 100 genes. These 100 genes revealed the risk of disease progression, which was more accurate than Gleason score test and PSA test. Previous research had indicated that six of the genes were linked to prostate cancer, however researchers noted that the other 94 genes had not been associated with prostate cancer until now.
According to your Miami urologist, this research could be a game-changer if the results are maintained in larger clinical trials and could give us more relevant information to guide each man’s treatment, even aiding us in the choice between treatments for men with aggressive forms of cancers.
This could ultimately result in more effective treatment for the men who need it, helping to save more lives and improving the quality of life for many thousands of men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
If you are interesting in learning more about your risk for prostate cancer, call the office of best Miami urologist Dr. George Suarez today to schedule a confidential consultation.
