Keeping treatments working for longer

Grant information

Institution – Imperial College London
Researcher – Professor Charlotte Bevan
Grant award - £404,553
Duration of funding – 2020-2024
Status - Complete
Reference – RIA18-ST2-022

Why did we fund this project?

• Androgens are hormones 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.
• Professor Bevan wanted to identify proteins, known as coregulators, that work together with the androgen receptor to help cancer grow and spread. Targeting these proteins alongside hormone treatment could slow down the development of resistance.

What did the team do?

• The team analysed large prostate cancer data sets and prostate cancer cells to look for proteins that interact with the androgen receptor.
• In the lab, the team removed each candidate protein from prostate cancer cells to see if there's any effect on cell growth or response to hormone therapy.
• Each protein was also investigated in samples generously donated by men with prostate cancer to confirm the most promising candidates.

What did the team achieve?

• The team identified a group of proteins that interact with the androgen receptor, are associated with cancer growth and may be involved in resistance to hormone therapies.
• In prostate cancer cells, removing candidate proteins slowed cancer growth and made hormone treatments work again.
• Encouragingly, in prostate cancer samples from men, the team found links between candidate proteins and cell growth following hormone treatment.

What does this mean for men?

• The most promising candidate proteins will now be further characterised as potential targets for new prostate cancer treatments.
• Excitingly, 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.