Predicting and reducing side-effects in prostate cancer therapy

Grant information

Institution – Imperial College London
Researcher – Professor Charlotte Bevan
Grant award - £211,800
Duration of funding – 2014-2017
Status - Complete
Reference – PG13-033

The project in a nutshell

• The team have designed a model to test multiple treatments for androgen-resistant prostate cancer.
• This can save men from unnecessary treatment with debilitating side-effects. 
• At least two treatments have been identified to have huge potential, with currently one in clinical trials.

Why did we fund this project?

A major clinical issue with the progression of prostate cancer is the transition to castrate-resistant prostate cancer, which depend less on androgens to grow. 

Androgens attach to cells through androgen receptors, which can cause prostate cancer progression even in castrate-resistant prostate cancer.  

• With this in mind, the team set out to develop a model to image, and ‘light up’, active androgen signals which can be observed throughout the body by the scientists.  
• This will help the team find out more on what happens when prostate cancer progresses and stops responding to androgens. 
• It will also let the team watch what happens when various treatments are used and help them to predict the side effects that a treatment might have. 

What did the team do?

• Using imaging techniques, the team monitored the androgen activity, as well as prostate size, to see the effects of the therapies.
• This was done in prostate cancer models which require androgen to grow, and castrate-resistant prostate cancer.
• The team compared different androgen deprivation therapies which reduce the amount of androgen in their cells for side-effects. 

What did the team achieve?

• The imaging techniques used could show which treatment worked best and was most targeted to the cancerous area.
• The model used by the team was found to fit well with general prostate cancer progression and is useful to track random tumour growth.
• The model can also show tissues which are hard to see in other imaging methods, and changes in prostate size.

How will this benefit men?

• Currently, men with prostate cancer suffer debilitating side-effects of the available treatments.
• The new model can assess side effects of different treatments and give researchers a good idea of how effective the treatments are at reducing androgen activity.
• The team have shown enormous potential of two new prostate cancer treatments, with one currently in clinical trial.