Why We Funded It:
Men with advanced prostate cancer that has spread outside of the
prostate gland have very few treatment options, and their survival
of the disease is further limited by the cancer's ability to
develop resistance to hormone treatments. There is a clear need to
invest in research to focus on new ways to control and treat
advanced prostate cancer.
Scientific Title: Targeting AMACR to treat
castrate-resistant prostate cancer
Research project summary:
The project is to study an important protein in prostate cancer,
known as AMACR. High levels of the AMACR protein are found in all
prostate cancers, and reducing the levels or interfering with its
function stops the cancer from growing. The initial aim is to
establish exactly what the protein does in the cancer, and how it
works. More importantly the study plans to produce new approaches
that will stop the protein from working, which can be later
optimized to produce new prostate cancer treatments. Current
therapies eventually fail as the cancer stops responding to hormone
therapy and develops drug resistance, usually about 2 years from
starting treatment. This failure results in rapid cancer
progression and ultimately, death. Interfering with AMACR has been
shown to stop cancers becoming drug resistant and our approach
should prevent treatment failure and hence extend life-expectancy.
The project will ultimately tell us what the AMACR protein does,
how it does it, and will start the development of new medical
treatments based on this knowledge.