A team of University of California at Berkeley researchers have discovered a protein that may lead to treatment for prostate cancer. Headed by James Allison, a UC-Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology, the group of scientists recently discovered a specific protein that is unique to prostate cancer. The protein, an antigen, is vital to the body's immune response.
Antigens are substances that the body senses as foreign.
They are responsible for alerting the immune system of a disease and then sending in killer cells to attack. This recognition is significant because it could mean a future vaccine treatment for the disease, researchers said. Although useful, the test is not completely reliable, which is why a more specific test using the antigen would be beneficial, said researchers. The antigen was discovered by Allison and his team after studying a strain of mice prone to prostate cancer. The mice, provided by Norman Greenberg of Baylor College of Medicine, were first treated with a multifaceted cancer therapy previously developed by Allison's lab.