Targeting treatment-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer

Current treatment options for prostate cancer include use of androgen deprivation therapies to block tumor growth but often the tumors become castration-resistant.

Even the second generation antiandrogens that do have significant effect on castration-resistant tumor growth in patients are not curative.

Approximately 25% of prostate cancer patients with castration-resistant disease treated with antiandrogens develop a form of prostate cancer that is completely independent of androgen receptor signaling that fuels the tumor growth.

Analyses of the pathology and genomics of these patient tumors has identified that the tumor cells adapt cancer stem cell and neuronal cell characteristics. Currently, there are no treatment options for this patient group.

Thus, development of novel strategies including selection of drugs that could be used to reduce the tumor growth and metastases in this patient group are desperately needed.

This project aims at characterizing a novel therapeutic target against aggressive, the treatment resistant neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

The success of this project may significantly benefit prostate cancer patients and provide cost-effective therapy options to be utilized in health service.