Synapse home page Home Researchers are fighting prostate cancer on cellular and genetic levels Certain proteins that identify aggressive breast cancers and oligonucleotides are the new tools researchers at UNMC are using to stop and reverse prostate cancer.
Most prostate cancers depend on androgens, or male steroid hormones, to grow.
One treatment of prostate cancer involves drugs that block androgen production or action. The most dangerous prostate cancers gain the ability to grow without androgen. Once cancer cells become insensitive to androgen, the commonly used drugs are ineffective and cancer grows without limit. A Japanese research team discovered a correlation between the disappearance of CD9 and the spread of malignant breast cancer. This discovery may be used to detect the most deadly forms of breast cancer.