Technology to identify healthy and cancerous prostrate cells

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A team of researchers at UC Santa Barbara has developed a breakthrough technology that can be used to discriminate cancerous prostate cells in bodily fluids from those that are healthy. The findings are published in the *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*.

While the new technology is years away from use in a clinical setting, the researchers are nonetheless confident that it will be useful in developing a microdevice that will help in understanding when prostate cancer will metastasize, or spread to other parts of the body.

The researchers explained that although the primary tumor does not kill prostate cancer patients, metastasis does. “The delay is not well understood,” said Gary Braun, second author and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. “There is a big focus on understanding what causes the tumor to shed cells into the blood. If you could catch them all, then you could stop metastasis. The first thing is to monitor their appearance.”

Ref and Read more: http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/News/2011/09/UCSB-Develops-Breakthrough-Technology-in-Identification-of-Prostate-Cancer-Cells/

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