Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have identified a telltale change in cellular machinery that could help clinicians predict whether prostate cancers are likely to spread or remain relatively harmless in the prostate. The researchers found that a cellular signaling molecule called Hedgehog, which drives normal development and regeneration of prostate tissue, is greatly activated in prostate cancers. This elevated activity distinguishes dangerous metastatic cancers - those that are likely to spread - from those that remain benign and localized to the prostate.
