Breakthroughs in Treating Prostate Cancer
"The ongoing research at Weill Cornell will help us drive down the need for aggressive prostate cancer treatments and improve the life of patients," says Dr. Ashutosh K. Tewari, the Ronald P. Lynch Professor of Urologic Oncology. "Our prostate cancer program is among the very best in low recurrence rates after treatment. And we aim to reduce even that by half in the next two years."
Dr. Tewari, who is also a professor of public health, says that success comes from the convergence of breakthroughs in three areas:
Genetics: The discovery of cancer biomarkers — specific genetic signatures — that can more accurately show how aggressive an individual's prostate cancer is. This is the future of personalized medicine.
Nerve Regeneration: New strategies to allow the regrowth of delicate nerves responsible for urinary continence and sexual function that can be damaged during surgery.
Lasers: New breakthroughs in the development of vision systems that can identify microscopic tissue structures in real time. "Cancer cells glow, so we can see them during surgery, which helps assure that all malignant cells are removed while reducing unnecessary damage to nerve cells," says Dr. Tewari.
The Research Leads to Cures Initiative
With these breakthroughs, Dr. Tewari and other Weill Cornell scientists are making great advances in improving quality of life and reducing the need for further treatments for prostate cancer patients. These researchers are the heart of the Research Leads to Cures initiative — a new and critical phase of the Discoveries that Make a Difference campaign.