FRIDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- Spanish researchers report
they may have found a way to tell which suspicious prostate lesions
are likely to develop into cancer.
The findings, published in the May 1 issue of
Clinical Cancer Research, show a link between high-grade
prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-PIN) lesions and the PTOV1
gene. The more PTOV1 the lesion expresses, the more likely cancer
will develop. The report also backs the reverse -- that the lack of
PTOV1 means a reduced risk of prostate cancer.
PTOV1 is a protein that researchers don't fully understand the
function of, but they have previously found too much of it appears
to promote the spread of cancer cells.
If subsequent studies confirm PTOV1 as a biomarker for prostate
cancer, it could help men with the lesions avoid repeated needle
biopsies.
"Those patients with a high PTOV1 score should undergo an
immediate repeat biopsy," study author Rosanna Paciucci, a
researcher at the Vall d'Hebron Hospital Research Institute in
Barcelona, said in a prepared statement. But those with low PTOVI
may not need to receive future "annoying and useless" biopsies, she
said. "We estimate that we can save 40 percent of unnecessary
biopsies -- those that are repetitively negative and contain HG-PIN
lesions that do not develop into cancer."
HG-PIN, while present in most cancerous prostates, is a
pre-malignant lesion and, given its association with other cancers,
it is often repeatedly biopsied when found. Past studies have put
the average risk of cancer being diagnosed in a HG-PIN biopsy at
between 20 percent and 30 percent, the researchers said. However,
none of these studies were to tell which lesions would progress to
cancer, the researchers say.
Paciucci cautioned that her team's results need to be confirmed
through a larger study group. "From this validation, we can expect
to improve the current rate of early detection of cancer," she
said.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about
prostate cancer.
