Prostate cancer is five different diseases

Prostate cancer is five different diseases, say British researchers who suggest the ability to distinguish between the different types can help doctors in the future more effectively treat cases.

Every year at least 41,700 UK men are treated for the prostate cancer problem and of them 10,800 die.

“This research could be game-changing if the results hold up in larger clinical trials and could give us better information to guide each man’s treatment – even helping us to choose between treatments for men with aggressive cancers“, he added. The profiling enabled researchers to track five groups of prostate cancers, each with their own, unique DNA signatures. Majority of the cases occur in men older than 50 years and the most common symptoms are painful urination, increased urination at night, difficulty maintaining steady stream of urine, and hematuria.

If it takes more than three trips to the GP to be referred for cancer tests, patients are more likely to be dissatisfied with their overall care, eroding confidence in the doctors and nurses who go on to treat and monitor them.

Apart from ethnicity, there are number of other risk factors linked to the disease such as older age, body weight, diet, history of STDs and family history of prostate cancer.

Based on the findings, researchers estimate that the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer in England is about 1 in 8 for white men, 1 in 4 for black men (including those of Black, Black Caribbean, African and other origins) and 1 in 13 for Asian men, according to Medical Daily. Due to this, treatments for the disease can often be inconsistent in effectiveness due to the wide range of reactions from patients.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. This same tactic was used in breast cancer and has brought relief to millions by avoiding unnecessary or useless treatments.

Cancer Research UK receives no government funding for its life-saving research.

Importantly, the genetic analysis is more accurate than the existing methods for determining how serious the cancer is, the scientists report in the online journal EBioMedicine.

Britain is eighth from bottom in league tables comparing cancer survival in 35 Western nations, latest research shows, on a par with Poland and Estonia.

The research was first carried out by Dr. Alastair Lamb, UK Cambridge Institute of Cancer. All major OEMs supported.