Understanding the mechanisms behind aggressive prostate cancer

Grant information

Researcher: Professor David Elliott
Institution: Newcastle University
Grant award: £284,806
Reference: RIA22-ST2-012

What you need to know

• The researchers want to understand why some prostate cancers become very dangerous, while others do not. They are studying two proteins called ESRP1 and ESRP2, which are like "master regulators" that control how genes work in the body.
• They believe that these proteins might change how certain genes are used, making the cancer grow more aggressively.
• By figuring out how ESRP1 and ESRP2 affect other genes, they hope to find ways to stop aggressive cancers from growing. If they succeed, it could lead to new treatments that could help men with the most dangerous prostate cancers.

What will the researchers do?

Professor Elliott and his team want to understand why some prostate cancers grow aggressively while others do not. They believe that certain proteins called ESRP1 and ESRP2 play a crucial role in controlling how genes work in aggressive tumours. Genes are like instruction manuals that tell our cells what to do, and ESRP1 and ESRP2 might be like master controllers that tell some genes to become more active in aggressive prostate cancers.

To figure this out, the researchers will study cells in the lab that have high levels of ESRP1 and ESRP2. They will see how this affects the behaviour of these cells and how other genes respond to these proteins. They will also use advanced models of prostate cancer that they can grow in a dish to understand how ESRP1 and ESRP2 work together with other genetic changes in aggressive prostate cancer.

To study this further, the researchers will use a tool that can cut out specific parts of the genes that are controlled by ESRP1 and ESRP2. By doing this, they can see how these changes affect the prostate cancer cells.

The researchers already have some evidence supporting their study. Cancer cells making more ESRP1 cause more severe disease, and ESRP1 and ESRP2 levels are highest in men who are less likely to survive prostate cancer.

How will this benefit men?

By studying these proteins and their effects, the researchers hope to discover the specific changes that make aggressive prostate cancers grow quickly and become dangerous. This knowledge is essential because it could help us develop ways to stop these aggressive cancers from progressing, giving men a longer life and a better chance of a cure.