Cause of metastasis in prostate cancer discovered

Prostate cancers remain localized in the majority of cases, giving affected individuals a good chance of survival. However, about 20% of patients develop incurable metastatic prostate cancer, resulting in approximately 5,000 deaths each year in Austria alone. Medical research has not yet adequately explained why metastases occur in some people and not in others. A research team has now discovered specific changes in a protein that drive the growth and spread of prostate cancer.