Immunotherapies for Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death in men, with approximately 220,000 new cases and an expected 28,000 deaths in the year 2003. A decrease in prostate cancer related deaths has been attributed to early prostate-specific antigen (PSA) detection, more effective chemotherapy treatments, and immunotherapies. Although tumors can often evade an immune response by modulating their tumor antigens, reducing major histocompatibility complex-1 (MHC-I) expression or inhibiting cytotoxic T-cell activity, the use of immune modulation for prostate cancer is a relatively new concept because the prostate is not generally considered a site where immune processes typically occur. Since tumors arise when cancer cells evade the immune system, the prostate is an ideal target for immunotherapy
The four most common types of lesions associated with the prostate are acute/chronic prostatitis (bacterial/abacterial), proliferative inflammatory atrophy (PIA), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and prostate carcinoma. The types of proliferative lesions that occur in the prostate are in different regions Read more [...]