Important breakthrough in prostate cancer research
Scientists at Melbourne's Monash University have made an important discovery in prostate cancer research, which could help to save lives.
Their breakthrough could lead to the development of an early diagnostic text and more targeted treatments to fight the disease.
David Schmidt is one of the 20,000 Australians diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.
He says he had some difficulty telling his wife that her 'bulletproof bloke' had prostate cancer.
Currently, there is no test to determine whether early stage prostate cancer is aggressive and will spread, or if it is a 'sleeping' type of cancer.
This means that some men receive too much treatment and others do not get enough.
Professor Gail Risbridger, from the School of Biomedical Sciences, said: "I can tell you it is a universal problem we all want to crack."
Scientists at Monash University are getting closer.
Prof. Risbridger and her team are one of the first in the world to harvest prostate cancer tissue from men in the early stages of the disease and grow the tissue inside mice.
This latest research takes doctors a step closer to determining the type of prostate cancer a patient has, and from there they can tailor the treatment to suit the disease.
Men's health expert Professor Rob McLachlan, from Andrology Australia, said the race is on to target different types of prostate cancer with specific treatments.
Professor McLachlan said: "It may mean we can avoid having to use invasive treatments, such as radiotherapy or surgery, and the associated side effects, such as erectile dysfunction or incontinence."
David had his prostate removed, and is cancer free.
