Gene destruction linked to aggressive prostate cancer

A recent study at Queen’s University has identified a possible cause for the loss of a tumour suppressor gene (known as PTEN) that can lead to the development of more aggressive forms of prostate cancer.
Researchers say that this discovery helps for a greater understanding of how aggressive prostate cancer develops because they now have some insight into the mechanism by which the PTEN gene is destroyed.
PTEN is one of a small class of tumor suppressor genes that closely regulates the growth of cells. When PTEN is altered or deleted in prostate cells, they lose the ability to make a protein that controls normal growth. Cells can then grow uncontrolled and can develop into a prostate cancer