Fighting Prostate Cancer with Stem CellsThe use of stem cell therapy has been used by many hospitals to treat various kinds of medical conditions. Researchers have been conducting a study on stem cells and discovered that prostate cancer may develop in one type of stem cell, and then evolve to be maintained by a stem cell that looks very different, making prostate cancer stem cells a ”moving target” for treatments. The stem cell concept of cancer suggests that each cancer cell contains a small fraction of stem cells responsible for the maintenance and progression of the disease. Prostate cancer is the second largest cause of cancer-related death in the United States, following only lung cancer. One out of every six men over the age of 65 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime, and one out of every 36 will die from the disease. As with any cancer, survival rate depends on early detection – if prostate cancer is found early and before it has a chance to evolve and spread to other parts of the body, survival rate can be 100 percent. The patient’s survival rate drops to 28 percent if the cancer hits stage IV. New treatments for the disease have lessened the impact of older, more radical treatments. These treatments, such as a complete removal of the prostate gland, often led to incontinence and impotence. Newer treatments, such as surgery laparoscopic robotic surgery, are far less drastic and invasive. They are also more accurate and much easier for the patient to recover from, and while still present, the chances of impotency and incontinence are reduced. Hence, patients do not have to worry about death with these new treatments. References:
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