by Approximately 300,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed annually in the United States, making it one of the most common types of cancer among men. One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Prostate cancer is often treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which aims to shrink tumors by lowering testosterone levels. However, this treatment comes with side effects such as sexual dysfunction and weight gain, and it eventually leads to castrate-resistant Prostate Cancer, a more aggressive form that continues to grow despite low testosterone levels.
A recent study published in Science Advances offers a potential solution to improve prostate cancer therapy and minimize side effects. Dr. Marja Nevalainen, a translational medicine physician-scientist and senior author on the study, explains, “Our goal is to develop a new therapeutic approach for androgen deprivation therapy that is more patient-friendly.”
Androgen deprivation therapy works by inhibiting the activity of the androgen receptor, a protein that plays a crucial role in both testosterone signaling and prostate tumor growth. However, the androgen receptor eventually develops mutations that make it resistant to androgen deprivation therapy. Dr. Nevalainen hypothesized that she could bypass mutations and target the androgen receptor and associated tumor more directly by blocking the activity of Stat5, a protein that boosts androgen receptor levels and promotes prostate cancer growth.
The research team’s findings indicate that blocking Stat5 activity significantly reduced tumor growth in mice with prostate cancer. This new approach could potentially lead to more effective and less side-effect-prone treatments for prostate cancer patients. Dr. Nevalainen concludes, “Our study provides a promising new direction for the development of more targeted and effective therapies for prostate cancer.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it.
