Prostate cancer is the second most prevalent form of cancer affecting American men but findings of a new study conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center may shed more light on the disease which could potentially lead to the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer.
A study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, April 18, researchers examined the benign prostate tissue samples taken from 191 men with prostate cancer and 209 men without the disease for signs of inflammation.
They found that the 86.2 percent of the subjects with prostate cancer had at least one tissue sample that shows signs of inflammation while only 78.2 percent of the subjects with frequency-matched controls had signs of inflammation.
The researchers also noted that men who have at least one tissue sample that has signs of chronic inflammation were 1.78 times more likely to have prostate cancer and 2.24 times more likely to have aggressive cancer suggesting an association between chronic inflammation and development of prostate cancer.
"Inflammation, most of which was chronic, was common in benign prostate tissue, and was positively associated with prostate cancer, especially high grade," the researchers wrote. "This study supports an etiologic link between inflammation and prostate carcinogenesis, and suggests an avenue for prevention by mitigating intraprostatic inflammation."
Study researcher Elizabeth Platz from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center said that although the study found a clear link between prostate inflammation and prostate cancer, it didn't prove that the inflammation caused the disease. Angelo M. De Marzo, professor of Pathology at Johns Hopkins' School of Medicine, also cautioned that inflammation is too prevalent in men it should not be used to evaluate men for prostate cancer.
The researchers have already conducted other studies that examined the possible association between prostate cancer and inflammation. What made the new study different though is that the researchers were able to examine the biopsy tissues not just of men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer but also of men who were not diagnosed of the disease.
"We had the unique opportunity to investigate biopsy tissue from patients who had no indication to prompt a biopsy," Platz said. "Prostate tissue was available not just for men who had the diagnosis of prostate cancer, but also for those who did not have the diagnosis."
