Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men globally.
Statistics reveal that one in six men will get prostate cancer during their life, with over 375,000 patients dying from it each year worldwide.
Tumor resistance to current therapies is a significant contributor to these numbers, emphasizing the urgent need for new therapeutic approaches.
A Critical Discovery
An international research team from the University of Bern, Inselspital Bern, and the University of Connecticut has made a groundbreaking discovery:
they identified a previously unknown vulnerability in prostate cancer cells, which might also exist in other types of cancer cells.
This discovery was led by Mark Rubin from the University of Bern and Inselspital Bern, and Rahul Kanadia from the University of Connecticut. Their study was recently published in the journal Molecular Cell.
The Inner Workings of the Cell
The team focused on a molecular machine inside cells, called the “spliceosome.”
This spliceosome plays a key role in translating genes into proteins by separating unneeded gene parts and fusing the rest, a process that’s crucial for protein production.
Interestingly, less than 1% of genes use a version of the spliceosome called the “minor spliceosome,” but these genes are pivotal because they regulate cell growth — the very process that becomes uncontrolled in cancer.
However, how this occurs was not understood until now.
The Role of the Minor Spliceosome in Cancer
The researchers found that a specific component of the minor spliceosome is significantly increased in advanced prostate cancer, leading them to believe that cancer cells stimulate uncontrolled cell growth by activating the minor spliceosome through this component.
A New Hope for Cancer Therapies
To confirm their findings, the researchers used laboratory test models like 2D cell cultures and organoids, which are miniature organs grown in the lab from patient samples.
They discovered that inhibiting this specific component resulted in a greater reduction in prostate cancer growth than current standard therapies.
This suggests that blocking this process could potentially offer therapeutic benefits, potentially slowing cancer growth without affecting normal cells’ growth and survival.
The Future of Cancer Therapy
This discovery opens a new avenue in the quest for more effective and targeted combination therapies for cancers, including prostate cancer and potentially other types.
The research team is eager to delve deeper into this exciting discovery in the coming years and has already filed a patent application for their work.
This new weak spot in cancer cells offers a promising path towards innovative cancer therapies and a potential milestone in cancer treatment.
If you care about prostate cancer, please read studies about new strategy to treat advanced prostate cancer, and a new way to lower risk of prostate cancer spread.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about new way to increase the longevity of cancer survivors, and results showing new way to supercharge cancer-fighting T cells.
The study was published in Molecular Cell.
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