NEW TEST MAY AID IN DIAGNOSING BLADDER CANCER
There’s more good news in the continuing battle against cancer. Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, in The Woodlands, Texas, have developed a test that may change existing treatment and possibly extend the survival rate for many of the over 50,000 women and men who are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year.
The researchers discovered that after analyzing tumorous cells, they could determine the status of a “tumor-suppressed” gene. If the gene, called retinoblastoma (RB), is not functioning properly the cancer will grow much faster and will require more aggressive treatment. And in a related study at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, researchers found that bladder-cancer patients with malfunctioning RB genes tended to survive for only one year. Those patients with normal RB genes lived an average of eight years.
Experts say that improperly functioning RB genes may also contribute to cancers of the prostate, breast, eye, lung, and blood. The new test, which should be available in the near future, may allow doctors to detect malfunctioning RB genes and replace them with normal genes, thus saving the lives of many cancer patients.
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March 24, 2009 - 8:45 AM