Prostate cancer is common, but in some cases, it can change into a much more dangerous form.
Scientists at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have discovered how and why this happens—and how we might be able to stop it.
Most men with prostate cancer are treated with medicine that lowers male hormones. This usually works well against the regular type of prostate cancer.
But sometimes, the cancer changes. Instead of looking like normal gland tissue, it starts to look more like nerve or brain tissue. This dangerous form is called neuroendocrine prostate cancer. It grows quickly and is much harder to treat.
Dr. Joshi Alumkal, a leading doctor at Rogel, explained that sometimes, the very treatments meant to fight cancer can cause it to become more aggressive. In some patients, the cancer changes its identity and becomes this more dangerous form.
For over ten years, Alumkal and his team have been studying a protein called LSD1. In the regular form of prostate cancer, LSD1 helps the cancer grow and survive. The scientists wanted to see if LSD1 played the same role in the dangerous form.
They looked at tissue samples from patients with neuroendocrine prostate cancer and found higher levels of the LSD1 protein. When they removed LSD1 from cancer cells in the lab, the cells didn’t grow well. This showed that LSD1 is very important for this type of cancer.
The team also discovered something even more important. LSD1 blocks another protein called p53, which is known to keep cancer under control. By turning off p53, LSD1 allows the cancer to grow freely.
Knowing this, the team tested a drug called seclidemstat that blocks LSD1. When they gave it to mice with the dangerous form of prostate cancer, the drug stopped the cancer from growing. In some mice, the cancer disappeared completely. Even better, the drug didn’t make the mice sick.
Dr. Alumkal said this discovery brings hope. The drug they tested is already being studied for another disease, so it might be possible to test it for prostate cancer soon. If it works in people the same way it did in mice, it could become a new way to treat aggressive prostate cancer.
This research might also help in treating other types of cancer. The p53 protein plays a role in many cancers. If scientists can find ways to keep p53 working, it could lead to new treatments for several diseases.
If you’re concerned about prostate cancer, look into studies about how diet might affect cancer growth, and research suggesting that an enlarged prostate might actually lower the chance of getting prostate cancer.
Also, check out recent studies about new testing methods for prostate and colon cancer, and how some prostate cancer drugs may even help treat COVID-19.
If you care about prostate cancer, please read studies about 5 types of bacteria linked to aggressive prostate cancer, and new strategy to treat advanced prostate cancer.
For more information about prostate cancer, please see recent studies about new way to lower risk of prostate cancer spread, and results showing three-drug combo boosts survival in metastatic prostate cancer.
The study was published in JCI Insight.
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