More aggressive cancers have more aggressive ODC, which means more aggressive tumor growth. Understanding this chemical reaction has led to development of the drug DFMO, which binds to and blocks ODC, thus preventing cancer growth. The prostate has more polyamines than just about any other organ in the body, so DFMO may be a valuable preventive agent. The best thing about DFMO is that it is easy to take orally and has few side effects. There is still research to be done, but scientists are optimistic about its potential to prevent prostatic carcinoma.
Cancer often arises in areas that have been inflamed for long periods.
Inflammation of the respiratory tract by cigarette smoke, for example, can cause normal lining cells in the airways to become cancerous. Uteroglobin blocks PLA2 actions and the release of AA from prostate tumor cells, inhibiting inflammation in the inflammation-prone prostate gland. The net effect of uteroglobin is not that it prevents cancer from forming, but that it keeps prostate cancer cells from spreading beyond their point of origin. Put another way, uteroglobin inhibits the invasiveness, not the inception, of cancer. This is an exciting discovery whose significance in potentially reducing the number of untreatable prostate tumors is easy to appreciate.