Scientists Discover New Targets to Fight Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer affects one out of six American men each year, making it the most common form of malignancy among men in the United States. Further research is essential to treating the cancer at certain stages.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there were 238,590 new cases of prostate cancer in 2013, including nearly 30,000 deaths. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and vaccine therapy, but issues still remain in cases of relapse as well as late stages of the cancer.

Researchers at the University of Houston led by Daniel Frigo, an assistant professor with the university's Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, are focusing on developing next generation prostate cancer therapies that target metabolism. Their target is the enzyme known as AMPK, or adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, known as a master regular for metabolism.

For prostate cancer relapse stages, also known as castration-resistant prostate cancer, the once-considered-effective androgen deprivation therapies are no longer as efficient. Androgen receptor signaling plays a crucial role in the development of prostate cancer, which the researchers find important because the androgens have the ability to take control of AMPK's molecular signals. So by targeting AMPK, the spread of the harmful androgens could be mitigated.

Daniel Frigo is pleased with the findings thus far, but he's determined to conduct further research on the subject. His research team has found that the androgen signaling cascade is essential for understanding prostate cancer's early and late-stages.

"These results emphasize the potential utility of developing metabolic-targeted therapies directed toward this signaling cascade for the treatment of prostate cancer," said Frigo in a news release. "We look forward to exploring this and other metabolic pathways further in order to develop the next generation of cancer therapies."

UH's Center for Nuclear Receptors and Signaling is a world-renowned center for research on various diseases including cancer, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and neurological disorders.