Towards more personalised prostate cancer treatment

Background

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian men. Thanks to advances in early detection and treatment in recent decades, around 95% of men diagnosed will survive beyond five years. However, once prostate cancer has spread the five-year survival rate drops dramatically to just 30%. Current treatments for advanced prostate cancer improve quality of life and extend survival, but relapses are common. New treatments are urgently needed to improve outcomes for men with advanced prostate cancer. 

The research

Professor Butler and her team are currently testing a new drug for prostate cancer in clinical trials. The drug, called ribociclib, targets two proteins that are overactive in cancer cells helping to drive cancer growth and spread. The drug was recently approved for use in advanced breast cancer, and in earlier laboratory testing Professor Butler and her team found that ribociclib was also effective in prostate cancer.  

In this project, alongside their clinical trials of ribociclib for prostate cancer, Professor Butler and her team will identify biomarkers that can be used to identify which patients this new drug is likely to benefit. Developing a companion test for these biomarkers will accelerate the translation of this research to a new personalised treatment option for men with advanced prostate cancer.