Using a breakthrough technology, researchers led by a Weill Cornell Medical College scientist have pinpointed the hormone estrogen as a key player in about half of all prostate cancers. Estrogen-linked signaling helps drive a discrete and aggressive form of the disease caused by a chromosomal translocation, which in turn results in the fusion of two genes.

A study reported in the August 1, 2007 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concluded that men who consume more cruciferous vegetables, particularly broccoli and cauliflower, have a lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

A new study has found that the omega 3 fatty acids found in oily fish like salmon and mackeral could cut the spread of prostate cancer by hampering the ability of prostate cells to metastasize:

The scientists said that the fats appeared to combat the effect of omega 6, found in nuts and seeds, which increased the spread of cells.

Prostate cancer is at its most dangerous when tumour cells from the prostate gland migrate and invade other parts of the body, such as the bone marrow.

The latest study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, suggests that increasing omega 3 in the diet protects men from developing this more aggressive form of disease.

Of course the usual disclaimers apply here, such as the need to maintain a healthy balance of these two types of fat (omega 3 and omega 6) and that readers should be aware that the experiments were only carried out in the laboratory, indicating a need for large population studies before actual conclusions can be drawn.

In a study of 150 men, the researchers identified the virus, called XMRV, and determined that it is 25 times more likely to be found in prostate cancer patients with a specific genetic mutation than men without the mutation.

UCSF and Cleveland Clinic scientists have discovered a new virus in human prostate tumors, a virus that has never been seen in humans before now. The type of virus, closely related to viruses typically found in mice, has never been detected in humans. The virus was probably originally acquired from another species; it is known as a xenotropic retrovirus - in this case, a xenotropic murine-like retrovirus, or XMRV.