Private MD News

New discovery may lead to the development of side effect-free prostate cancer treatments

Category: Prostate

For men who have received positive PSA test results indicating the presence of prostate cancer, there are thankfully many therapeutic approaches that may cure the condition. Unfortunately, many of these treatments come with a significant risk of side effects like incontinence and impotence.

Yet, a team of Australian researchers may have found a route to developing prostate cancer treatments that does not carry a risk of side effects. They said their findings could drastically improve therapies for the condition.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia researchers showed that prostate cancer cells have a greater number of receptors for a key nutrient involved in cell growth known as leucine. The team proposed that it may be possible to design medications that block prostate cancer cells' leucine receptors or that interfere with the activity of leucine.

Prostate cancer is already known as one of the slower progressing forms of the disease. The team said that medications that further slow the growth of tumors may eliminate the need for surgery or hormone therapy, the two leading causes of treatment-related side effects.