Breakthrough in prostate cancer raises hopes of nipping the disease in the bud

A breakthrough in prostate cancer has raised hopes of stopping the disease.

It follows the discovery of how sugar molecules that nourish tumors are produced.

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The finding opens the door to new treatments to block this and thus halt the spread of the disease.

The researcher dr. Jennifer Munkley said, “This would lead to the development of new, more precise treatments that nip prostate cancer in the bud.”

Prostate cancer kills 12,000 British men every year.

There is no screening and it is often discovered too late.

If caught early, it can be treated with radiation therapy or with surgery to remove the organ.

But research at Newcastle University and Imperial College London has focused on a previously overlooked protein called GALNT7 on the surface of the prostate.

It produces the sugar molecules that allow the tumor to grow and spread throughout the body.

Researchers are working on a way to block them.

dr Matthew Hobbs of Prostate Cancer UK said: “Smarter, more targeted treatments give us the best possible chance of stopping prostate cancer as a killer.”