FINDING MAY END UNECESSARY PROSTATE SURGERIES.

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Scientists have found a new way to identify a particularly deadly form of prostate cancer in a breakthrough that could save tens of thousands of men from undergoing uncessary surgery each year.

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In contrast to many cancers, only certain prostate tumours require treatment. Many are slow-growing and pose little threat to health. But separating the "tigers" from the "pussycats" - as oncologists dub them - is tricky.

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Now that is set to change with research published on Monday showing how a genetic variation within tumour cells can signal if a patient has a potentially fatal form of the disease.

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"This will provide an extra degree of certainty as to whether a cancer is going to be aggressive or indolent, and that's really what we want to know," Colin Cooper professor of molecular biology at Britain's Institute of Cancer Research, says.

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"Many people get treated radically but probably two-thirds of them never needed treating," he added.

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...from The Vancouver Sun, July 17, 2007.