Prostate Cancer

Elevated levels of prostate specific antigen followed by prostate biopsies have long been the standard for determining prostate cancer, despite many false positives or inconclusive indications. To address this researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have used magnetic resonance spectroscopy to create metabolic profiles of suspected cases. They found that “metabolic profiles of what appeared to be benign prostate tissue were able to differentiate more aggressive from less aggressive tumors and tumors found throughout the prostate gland from those confined to a limited area. Levels of a metabolite called myo-inositol — known to be a tumor suppressor — were elevated in the tumors of patients with highly aggressive cancers, the significance of which is yet to be determined.”   MORE

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