Scientists from Moffitt Cancer Center found a mechanism that leads to drug resistance in prostate cancer.
The research is published in Science Translational Medicine and was conducted by Nicholas Lawrence et al.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States. Many patients can live long lives due to early detection and treatment with androgen deprivation therapy.
However, despite the benefits of this therapy, almost all patients will eventually develop drug resistance and recurrent disease.
In the study, the team found a mechanism by which prostate cancer cells become resistant through molecular modification of the androgen receptor protein.
They also identify a potential treatment method that could overcome this resistance.
Androgen deprivation therapy has been the mainstay of prostate cancer treatment for decades.
The goal of this therapy is to reduce the levels of hormones called androgens that stimulate prostate cancer cell growth through either surgical or medical approaches that target androgen receptor signaling.
Androgen deprivation therapy greatly improves survival but almost always leads to a recurrent disease called castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Scientists have discovered that resistance is primarily due to the reactivation of androgen receptor signalling through different mechanisms, and they developed new drugs, such as enzalutamide and abiraterone, to overcome this resistance.
In the study, the team found that the androgen receptor becomes chemically modified at two distinct sites.
Importantly, the researchers also showed that the expression level of a protein ACK1 and the modified androgen receptor were higher in tissue samples from patients with prostate cancer than normal prostate tissue, and their expression increased throughout cancer progression.
These findings suggest the importance of these androgen receptor modification events and protein interactions to the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer.
These data could open a new treatment for recurrent castration-resistant prostate cancer patients, a currently unfulfilled need.
If you care about prostate cancer, please read studies about the cause of prostate cancer metastasis, and scientists find a new type of prostate cancer.
For more information about prostate cancer, please see recent studies about 5 types of bacteria linked to aggressive prostate cancer, and results showing common prostate cancer drugs may be less safe than thought.
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