Breakthrough in Prostate Cancer Treatment: New Method Shows Promising Results

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, have made a groundbreaking discovery in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. By combining two existing drugs, they have found a way to slow tumour growth and trigger cancer cell death in up to 40 per cent of patients with late-stage disease.

Key Takeaways:

• Researchers identified a two-pronged method that targets proteins MCL1 and AKT, which promote cancer cell survival.
• The combination of drugs fadraciclib, capivasertib, and ipatasertib triggered prostate cancer cell death in lab studies.
• The new treatment approach is expected to benefit up to 40 per cent of patients with advanced prostate cancer.
• Inhibiting AKT using capivasertib or ipatasertib, in combination with fadraciclib, slowed cancer growth in mice with PTEN-loss/PI3K-activated tumours.
• The treatment had no effect on tumour growth when used with either drug alone.
• The study's findings provide new hope for men with advanced prostate cancer whose outcomes are bleak once hormone therapies stop working.

Statistics:

• 40 per cent of patients with late-stage prostate cancer may benefit from the new treatment approach.
• 58,218 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in England in 2024 (National Prostate Cancer Audit).
• 12 per cent of men with prostate cancer were diagnosed in England in 2024 with metastatic prostate cancer (National Prostate Cancer Audit).

Sources:

• "New treatment for advanced prostate cancer shows promising results" (The Institute of Cancer Research, London, no date).
• "Prostate cancer: How a combination of existing drugs could revolutionise treatment" (The Institute of Cancer Research, London, no date).
• National Prostate Cancer Audit (no date).