New drug could keep advanced prostate cancer under control for longer – now our £2m trial will test it

A new drug that could help men with advanced cancer live longer is about to be tested in a new, £2m clinical trial – thanks to your support. 

The drug aims to extend the effectiveness of existing prostate cancer treatments such as hormone therapy. 

Initially, these treatments can be extremely effective for men with advanced prostate cancer, preventing their cancer from progressing further for many months, even years.  

However, these treatments eventually stop working, leaving men with few options.  

The new trial, led by Professor Johann de Bono, Dr Adam Sharp and Dr Alec Paschalis from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, (ICR) will test a new drug that aims to target the cause of this resistance and prolong the effectiveness of existing prostate cancer treatments. 

If successful, the research could transform how we treat advanced prostate cancer by making existing therapies more durable and effective. 

This new trial builds on previous Prostate Cancer UK-funded work the team did in collaboration with Professor David Waugh, studying how prostate cancer cells interact with the immune system, which is meant to defend the body against illnesses, from flu to cancer. 

In men with prostate cancer, however, Prof Waugh and his team found the disease can send out ‘SOS signals’ that flip a ‘switch’ on immune cells, encouraging them to protect the cancer cells instead. These signals can stop treatments like enzalutamide and apalutamide from being effective. 

Following that discovery, Prof Waugh worked with Prof de Bono and his team to test new treatments that work a bit like a pair of molecular ‘headphones’, stopping immune cells picking up these SOS signals. That means both the immune system and existing treatments can go back to doing their job – killing cancer cells. 

The team’s initial results were exciting. When 21 men tested a treatment that blocks just one of these SOS signals, it massively reduced the interaction between the men’s cancer cells and the hijacked immune cells. 

This new trial will test a new drug called SX-682, developed by Syntrix Pharmaceuticals, that can block two of cancer’s SOS signals from reaching the immune cells. The researchers believe that this means that it will work better and allow existing prostate cancer treatments to work for longer. 

Men on the trial will start taking the new treatment if their current hormone therapy stops working. Using blood tests, scans and biopsy samples, the team will then work out whether the treatment can reverse this and, if so, which dose gives the best response with the fewest side effects. 

If they’re successful, the team would follow this up with larger trials to find out exactly how effective this treatment approach can be at keeping the disease under control – paving the way for a transformation in how we treat advanced prostate cancer. 

WATCH: Prof de Bono and team explain the research behind the trial in our recent webinar:

Dr Matthew Hobbs, our Director of Research, said: “Prostate Cancer UK has funded research through multiple grants over the past two decades to understand the complex biology at play here, including the previous ACE trial to provide proof of concept that this is a viable new way to treat prostate cancer.  

“Now, with the larger funding available through our sector-leading Transformational Impact Awards, we’re building on that promise, aiming to accelerate development of a drug that could be used as part of a man’s treatment to extend lives through this approach. 

“We’re dedicated to funding research that delivers totally new ways to treat prostate cancer. To achieve that goal, though, we need to work in partnership. Prostate Cancer UK’s global perspective has enabled us to identify and work with Syntrix to build the evidence needed to take their exciting drug forward.  By bringing together the company’s innovative drug, the UK’s world leading expertise in prostate cancer, and our funding, we can, together, drive progress to ensure that men can have longer, healthier lives with their loved ones.” 

John Zebela, President and CEO at Syntrix Pharmaceuticals said: “We are hugely excited about the potential for SX-682 to provide better outcomes for patients with advanced cancer. However, as a small company it would not have been possible for us to fund this trial.   

“I’m delighted that Prostate Cancer UK’s vision, expertise and funding have provided an opportunity to work with Professor De Bono’s team to provide the next crucial layer of evidence needed to take this drug into the clinic to make a real impact for men with prostate cancer. We look forward to working together over the next few years on this trial and sharing the benefits of a hopefully successful trial in future.” 

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