Prostate cancer cell surface and internal antigens can provide a suitable target for imaging these cancers and for the development of new diagnostic agents and novel therapeutic interventions. Immunological strategies are proving successful with other tumors and offer enormous promise in prostate cancer as well. Moreover, the field of experimental therapeutics is growing rapidly. Testing these and other novel therapies against human prostate cancer will require a much more extensive infrastructure to support translational research. Regardless of the effects in tissue culture or animal models, new diagnostic agents or therapeutic interventions must be tested in humans.
Clinical trials are the essential bridge between science and medicine.
Many features of prostate cancer make the disease a good target for gene therapy. Among these features are its slow growth, enabling long-term control even if the cancer is not eradicated, the discrete and accessible nature of the prostate gland, and the fact that the response to therapy can be monitored throughout the course of the disease through PSA, biopsies, and scans. Prostate cancer, among the solid tumors, seems to be particularly suitable for gene therapy, since the organ is expendable, the primary tumor is accessible for applying treatment and monitoring the response, and a circulating marker of response is readily available. Gene therapy has thus far been associated with low morbidity and could be applied repeatedly to palliate these slow growing cancers long enough for patients to live out their natural lives even if the cancer is not completely eradicated. A clinical trials mechanism that is adapted to the special means and opportunities in prostate cancer can play a major role in accelerating progress.