The molecule that makes prostate cancer easy to find shows why it will be so difficult to cure

Autor: Richard J. Wassersug, Isaac Nikolai Fox
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Men's Health, Vol 17, Iss 2, Pp 1-3 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1875-6859
DOI: 10.31083/jomh.2021.014
Popis: PSA is an enzyme that helps liquefy semen after a man ejaculates. Liquifying the semen frees sperm cells so they can swim to an egg and fertilize it. PSA’s function is so essential for mammalian reproduction that prostate cancer has evolved a multitude of ways to avoid the body’s own defences against cancerous prostate cells. As a testimony to how important PSA is to reproduction, highly mutated prostate cells still produce PSA. This makes the PSA test a good clinical tool for tracking the progression of the disease. At the same time, it also is an ominous sign of how hard it will be to find a simple cure for prostate cancer.
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