Is prostate cancer in a large prostate associated with a decreased prostate specific antigen failure rate after brachytherapy?
Some investigators have postulated that paracrine signals acting to regulate epithelial proliferation in benign prostatic hypertrophy have beneficial influences on coexistent prostate cancer. Our finding that the effect of prostate size is independent of Gleason score, PSA and disease stage supports the paracrine signal mechanism. If a circulating substance, such as a cytokine, might be responsible for improved survival, this substance might be useful for treating prostate cancer. Moreover, since we found that prostate size is independent of PSA, Gleason score and tumor stage for predicting outcome, we hypothesize that patients with a small prostate treated with brachytherapy might benefit from hormone treatment and larger radiation doses. These measures are now generally reserved for men with more advanced tumors, higher PSA and increased Gleason scores.
CD8SP seems to make a major contribution to enhance BMC engraftment and induce donor-specific tolerance. Ly6A/E (Sca-1)-positive cells need to be further investigated for their contribution to the establishment of chimerism.