• National Cancer Institute
  • National Human Genome Research Institute

The Cancer Genome Atlas

Prostate AdenocarcinomaRSS

Last Updated: February 22, 2012

Sample Collection Complete Data Publicly Available
   

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is a disease of the prostate, a walnut-size gland in the male reproductive system.  Nearly all prostate cancer is prostate adenocarcinoma.  Prostate cancer is graded based on its Gleason score, which it how the cells look under a microscope and ranges from two to ten. A low Gleason score means that the cancer tissue is similar to normal cells and unlikely to spread. A high Gleason score means that the cancer cells are very different from normal cells and are likely to spread. For patients whose cancer has spread, their survival time is usually one to three years. It was estimated that for 2011, 240,890 men would be diagnosed and 33,720 would die from prostate cancer1. View additional information on prostate cancer.

What types of discoveries about prostate cancer do The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) researchers hope to make?

  • Analyze correlation between Gleason score and other tumor characteristics to better define aggressiveness
  • Examine samples from majority populations and compare to underrepresented populations, such as African Americans who have the highest incidence rate of prostate cancer2
  • Integrate the genomic information with the proteomic data

Where can I find more information about the TCGA Research Network’s studies or studies using TCGA data?

View a list of TCGA scientific publications.

Where can I find clinical trials to treat prostate cancer that are supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)?

View a list of NCI-supported prostate cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients.
 

Selected References

1 American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2011. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society, 2011.

2 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. (2011, August 31). Prostate Cancer Rates by Race and Ethnicity. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved January 10, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/prostate/statistics/race.htm.