Cells that cause prostate cancer ‘identified

In a major finding which may soon pave the way for a more effective treatment for prostate cancer, scientists claim to have identified a cell that could be the “mother” of all prostate tumours. Previously it was thought that a different type of immature cell, known as a luminal cell, lay at the root of prostate cancer.
Now, in a study, an international team has found that samples of the “basal” cells taken from healthy human prostate tissue triggered cancer in laboratory rodents with suppressed immune systems, the ‘Science’ journal reported. For the study, the scientists began by extracting both luminal and basal cells from non-cancerous human prostate tissue samples. First, the cells were altered by inserting defective genes into them known to trigger cancer. Subsequently, they’re implanted into susceptible mice with impaired immune systems. The results showed that it was basal rather than luminal cells that initiated prostate cancer in the animals. Senior author Dr Owen Witte of the University of California, said: “Certainly the dominant thought is that human prostate cancer arose from the luminal cells because the cancers had more features resembling luminal cells. But we were able to start with a basal cell and induce human prostate cancer and now, as we go forward, this gives us a place to look in understanding the sequence of genetic events that initiates prostate cancer and defining the cell signalling pathways that may be at work fuelling the malignancy, helping us to uncover new targets for therapy.”

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