Drug breakthrough offers hope for advanced prostate cancer patients
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An innovative new drug being trialled to tackle certain cancers could also benefit patients with advanced prostate cancer whose treatment has stopped working, according to scientists. Experts hailed the discovery as an “exciting step” towards tackling treatment resistance for patients with the disease.
The drug, known as NXP800, works by targeting the heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) pathway, a cellular protective mechanism that is hijacked to support the growth of cancer. The pathway controls the production of heat shock factor proteins, which are overexpressed in many cancer cells, helping them to cope with stressful conditions as tumours develop.
A team from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, found NXP800 slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells, including those that had developed a resistance to the hormone therapy enzalutamide. Dr Adam Sharp, leader of the Translational Therapeutics Group at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and honorary consultant medical oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: “While hormone therapies have extended the lives of lots of men with advanced prostate cancer, drug resistance is inevitable.
“We need to tackle the problem from a new angle. “With this research, we’ve shown that targeting the heat shock response pathway – a pathway responsible for enabling tumours to withstand stress and keep growing – is a potential new avenue for treating advanced prostate cancer.
