Why we funded it
Dr de Bono hopes these studies will help develop new tests that
can quickly identify which men with advanced prostate cancer will
respond to treatments such as abiraterone. These studies may help
scientists understand the different molecular types of prostate
cancer, which is critical to continued successful drug
development.
Scientific title
Identifying mechanisms of resistance to specific CYP17
inhibition with abiraterone acetate.
Research project summary
Dr de Bono and his team have developed a new type of hormone
treatment, abiraterone; this is a pill with few side-effects that
works in up to 60-70% of patients with advanced prostate cancer.
This treatment allows survival for long periods with no return of
the cancer; however, after many months or sometimes many years,
abiraterone eventually stops working and the cancer returns. The
team now propose to identify the patients in whom this drug works
best and why it ultimately stops working.
The team will study the circulating cancer cells of patients
treated on abiraterone acetate by evaluating changes in these cells
acquired from blood samples ('a liquid biopsy'). The presence of
key genetic changes in the cancer cells may predict the continued
dependence of the cancer on hormones; this will be investigated and
determined in this study.
These studies will help to develop new tests that can identify
which patients with advanced prostate cancer will respond to
treatments such as abiraterone. Hopefully, this will directly
impact how men with advanced prostate cancer will be treated in the
future by delivering personalised treatment based on our
understanding of the individual's cancer. These studies will also
help to more broadly understand the different molecular types of
prostate cancer, which is critical to continued successful drug
development. Ultimately, identifying what causes cancer to become
resistant to abiraterone could lead to the development of new
treatment strategies that would be of enormous benefit men with
prostate cancer.