Unlocking resistance to hormone therapy

Grant information

Institution – University of Nottingham
Researcher – Professor Nigel Mongan
Grant award - £182,871
Duration of funding – 2017-2021
Status - Complete
Reference – RIA15-ST2-005

Why did we fund this project?

• Androgens are hormones that are essential for the growth and function of the prostate, and the androgen receptor plays an important role in prostate cancer development.
• Hormone therapies that block the androgen receptor can be very effective in stopping prostate cancer growth, but over time the cancer can become resistant, meaning the hormone treatments stop working.
• Coregulator proteins work alongside the androgen receptor to help cancer grow and spread. Professor Mongan and his team wanted to investigate a particular group of coregulators, called KDM proteins, to see if targeting them could slow down the development of resistance to hormone treatment.

What did the team do?

• The team used prostate cancer samples generously donated by men to see if KDM proteins are associated with the development of cancer.
• Next, the team studied prostate cancer cells grown in the lab, including cells that still respond to hormone treatment and cells that have become resistant.
• They removed different combinations of KDM proteins from these cancer cells to see if there was any effect on cell growth.

What did the team achieve?

• In samples donated by men, the team found that KDM proteins are associated with aggressive cancer that is more likely to spread beyond the prostate.
• Removing individual KDM proteins slowed cancer cell growth, but removing multiple KDM proteins at the same had an even greater effect.
• Excitingly, removing combinations of KDM proteins slowed cell growth even in prostate cancer cells that had developed resistance to hormone treatment.

What does this mean for men?

• The most promising KDM proteins will now be further characterised as potential targets for new prostate cancer treatments.
• This could result in new drugs that prevent resistance to hormone treatments developing and keep existing therapies working for longer, helping men to live longer, healthier lives.