Overcoming a major treatment challenge in advanced prostate cancer
Background
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men in Australia, with over 3500 deaths expected in 2022. Prostate cancer depends on male hormones, called androgens, to grow and spread so one of the main treatments for advanced disease involves using drugs to block the activity of these hormones. However, if the cancer advances and stops responding to hormone therapy, current treatments are no longer effective.
The research
Resistance to hormone therapy is the single most important problem in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, as it leads to a form of prostate cancer that remains incurable. In this project, Professor Holst and his team aim to develop a new drug treatment strategy to overcome resistance to hormone therapy in prostate cancer. In the lab, the team will identify the metabolic changes in prostate cancer cells that occur when they start to become resistant to hormone therapy. They will then target these metabolic processes with existing drugs to see if they can stop the changes that lead to hormone resistance. Using an advanced pre-clinical platform, the team will then combine these drugs with hormone therapy to see if they can enhance the cancer-fighting effectiveness of hormone therapy and block treatment resistance.
The Impact
A new drug combination for effectively treating advanced prostate cancer would have a major impact on the thousands of men diagnosed every year in Australia. If Professor Holst’s project is successful, the team will be well-placed to start clinical trials of a new treatment with the potential to prevent deaths from advanced-stage prostate cancer that has stopped responding to hormone therapy.