Prostate cancer breakthrough raises hopes of stopping disease in its tracks

A PROSTATE cancer breakthrough has raised hopes of stopping the disease in its tracks.

It follows the discovery of how sugar molecules which feed tumours are produced.

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The finding opens the door for new treatments to block this and thus halt the spread of the disease.

Researcher Dr Jennifer Munkley said: “This would lead to the development of new, more precise treatments that stop prostate cancer in its tracks.”

Prostate cancer kills 12,000 British men a year.

There is no screening and it is often not spotted until too late.

If caught early, it can be treated with radiotherapy or by surgery to remove the organ.

But research at Newcastle University and Imperial College London has zeroed in on a previously overlooked protein named GALNT7 on the prostate’s surface.

It produces the sugar molecules which make the tumour grow and spread through the body.

Researchers are working on a way to block it.

Prostate Cancer UK’s Dr Matthew Hobbs said: “Smarter, more targeted treatments will give us the best possible chance to stop prostate cancer being a killer.”