A side from skin malignancies, prostate cancer is the most frequently occurring of all cancers. This research seeks to understand how that change occurs. Once we determine that, we hope to prevent malignant progressions from occurring and develop more effective therapies. The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 179,300 new prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 1999, and 37,000 American men are expected to die from the disease. Like all cancers, prostate cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth.
Cancer cells grow unpredictably, ignoring the warnings to which other cells respond.
However, prostate cancer cells eventually develop the ability to grow and spread independent of hormone levels. At this stage, the disease is very difficult to control and treatment options are limited. It is one of only 18 facilities in the country designated by NCI as a clinical cancer center with demonstrated excellence in basic and clinical research, as well as the organization and resources necessary to promote interdisciplinary research.