WEDNESDAY, Aug. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Two Los Angeles-area medical centers are seeking men with prostate cancer and their spouses/partners to take part in the creation of a database that may help lead to a better understanding of the disease.

The Prostate Patient Profiles Project will collect blood and tissue samples, along with medical information, from prostate cancer patients and their spouses/partners. The data will be used in an effort to learn more about the genetics and biology of the disease and to study factors that affect how different kinds of prostate cancer respond to treatment.

The project is a collaboration between Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center. The researchers are seeking a wide cross-section of patients, including those who have difficulty gaining access to health care.

"This data collection project is being undertaken because very little is known about what causes some individuals to develop cancer while others don't," co-principal investigator Dr. David B. Agus, of the Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai, said in a prepared statement.

"Once we better understand the genetic and proteomic patterns of men with prostate cancer, we hope to be able to develop more targeted, more individualized -- and ultimately, more effective -- treatments for prostate cancer and other cancers," Agus said.

Prostate cancer patients interested in taking part in the project can phone Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at 310-423-7600 or Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center at 310-674-7050, ext. 4664.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about prostate cancer.