Men who have aggressive prostate cancer that is not responding to traditional treatment may be helped by a new type of cancer drug, a new study has shown. The study was from the Institute of Cancer Research and was published in the journal Cancer Research.
Hspn90 inhibitors "specifically target and inactivate a mechanism commonly used by prostate cancer cells to evade the effects of standard treatment," according to Eurekalert. Hsp90 inhibitors destroy multiple proteins that are necessary for the growth and survival of cancer cells.
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Many Prostate Cancers Evade Treatment
The Australian reported that when the prostate cancer has already spread to other parts of the body, it is hard to suppress. Chemotherapy and hormone therapy are prescribed so that the cancer cells would not receive the needed testosterone to further grow. Still, the cells "find some way of short-circuiting the body so that they can carry on loading up on testosterone"
The cancer cells are said to be heavily dependent on molecules called heat shock protein (Hsp90). Without these, the cancer cells find it difficult to build "pipelines" to get testosterone.
Clinical Trials Up Next For New Prostate Cancer Drug
BBC reported that researchers had used mice to see the effectiveness of Hsp90 inhibitors in treating aggressive prostate cancer. In the study, Hsp90 inhibitors were found to take away the defenses of cancer cells against hormone treatments.
"We call Hsp90 inhibitors 'network drugs' because they tackle several of the signals that are hijacked in cancer all at once, across a network rather than just a single signalling pathway," study author Paul Workman said, as per BBC. Workman is the chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research. He said that the Hsp90 inhibitors would next be tested "in clinical trials on patients with aggressive, drug-resistant prostate cancer."
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