Prostate vaccination shows promise in early studies

With the growing number of prostate cancer cases worldwide., it's absolutely incredible to think that preventing this disease may someday be as easy as taking a single shot.

Sound far-fetched? It's not, say researchers from the University of Southern California, who created a vaccine that prevented the onset of prostate cancer in 90 percent of mice genetically predestined to develop the disease. What's more, in a recent issue of Cancer Research, they suggest that a similar strategy might work for men with rising levels of PSA (prostate specific antigen), a potential diagnostic indicator of prostate cancer.

As lead investigator W. Martin Kast, Ph.D. stated in an article released to the AP wire, "This has never been done before and, with further research, could represent a paradigm shift in the management of human prostate cancer." Rather than relying on "watchful waiting," which is the current approach doctors recommend for men with high PSI levels but no sign of cancer, a less reactive and far more proactive approach can be taken. As Dr. Kast summed it up in an almost Don King-esque promotion of the technology, "But what if instead of a watchful wait, we vaccinate" That could change the course of the disease."