Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and the impact of a benign prostate disease (BPH) is equally important as up to 90% of men will have BPH at age 80.

Though not usually life-threatening, BPH has a dramatic impact on man's quality of life.

Melbourne scientists in a giant leap towards fully understanding prostate cancer, have grown a human prostate from embryonic stem cells.

Co-first authors of the study, Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) scientists PhD student Prue Cowin and Dr Renea Taylor (also from the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories), said the discovery will allow scientists to monitor the progression of the prostate from a normal to a diseased state for the first time.

"We need to study healthy prostate tissue from 15-25 year old men to track this process. Understandably, there is a lack of access to samples from men in this age group, so to have found a way we can have an ongoing supply of prostate tissue is a significant milestone," said Dr Taylor.

The discovery will allow scientists to observe first-hand the factors that play a role in the development of prostate disease.

This study will appear in the March edition of Nature Methods.

Read more at EurekALert or you can download the original press release (a pdf file).