Targeting cancer's 'seeds' to stop the spread of prostate cancer

Grant information

Reference - RIA15-ST2-016
Researcher - Professor Richard Clarkson
Institution - Cardiff University
Duration - 2016-2019
Status - Completed
Award - £279,632

Why did we fund this project?

• Dr Richard Clarkson and team had previously developed a drug they hoped could be a new treatment for prostate cancer.
• This drug targets a small number of cells within a prostate cancer called cancer stem cells. These cells act like cancer ‘seeds’ - they can divide and spread rapidly to support the growth of an entire prostate cancer.
• Importantly, these seeds can spread outside the prostate and grow into new cancers at other sites in the body. They can also help cancer to come back after surgery or radiotherapy. 
• In this project, the team wanted to see if the drug could successfully eliminate the seeds, and whether this stopped prostate cancer growing and spreading. This would give them evidence to support trialling this drug in men.

What did the team do?

• The team tested their drug on prostate cancer cells grown in the laboratory and prostate cancers removed from men during routine surgery.
• They studied if their drug could eliminate the cancer seeds, and if this reduced the prostate cancer’s ability to grow and spread.
• They also tested their drug in combination with other prostate cancer drugs such as docetaxel, to see if their drug could make these routinely-used drugs more effective.

What did the team achieve?

• Excitingly, the team found their new drug was effective at killing the cancer seeds.
• They found their drug was even more effective when they combined it with other prostate cancer drugs such as docetaxel, and so might work best as a combination therapy with other treatments.
• Importantly, their drug worked best against aggressive prostate cancers that have the highest risk of spreading to other parts of the body, and coming back after treatment.

What does this mean for men?

• The team have shown their new drug can kill the seeds that help cancer to spread around the body and return after treatment.
• Eventually this type of drug could be useful as part of a treatment combination for men with cancer that has a high risk of spreading and coming back.
• They hope to continue to develop suitable forms of the drug, to generate enough evidence to start clinical trials in prostate cancer patients.