A new approach to hormone therapy

Grant information

Institution - University of Aberdeen
Researcher - Professor Iain McEwan
Grant award - £81,634
Duration - 2011-2014
Reference - S10-10 McEwan

Why did we fund this project?

• The androgen receptor (or ‘AR’) drives the growth and spread of prostate cancer.
• To do this, the AR interacts with lots of other ‘action proteins’, that cause changes in the cells to make them grow and spread rapidly.
• Professor Iain McEwan and team thought blocking these interactions between the AR and its action proteins could slow prostate cancer growth.
• This could be a completely new way of targeting the AR to treat prostate cancer, including in men for whom hormone therapy has stopped working.

What did the team do?

• In this project, the team aimed to identify the most important action proteins, and understand which parts of the AR interacted with them.
• They then developed a number of drug candidates to block these parts of the AR to stop them interacting with the action proteins.
• They tested how these drugs affected the behaviour of prostate cancer cells grown in the lab.

What did the team achieve?

• The team identified action proteins important in helping the AR drive prostate cancer, and which parts of the AR they interact with.
• Their new drug candidates were able to disrupt the AR driving prostate cancer in some prostate cancer cells.
• However the results weren't consistent between different types of prostate cancer cells, suggesting these interactions are more complex than anticipated.

What does this mean for men?

• The team decided not to continue to develop their drug candidates due to the inconsistent results in prostate cancer cells.
• However, they have uncovered important information about the AR and its action proteins, that could guide the development of new prostate cancer treatment approaches.
• This project also helped to train a new prostate cancer researcher through a PhD studentship. She is now an established researcher in the development of new anti-cancer drugs.