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Cancer research

New Combination of Drugs Shows Promise in Treating Advanced Prostate Cancer

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, have discovered that a combination of two targeted drugs may help treat up to two in five advanced prostate cancer patients. The drugs, which are already in development or approved for use in other cancers, were found to slow tumour growth and kill cancer cells. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that inhibiting MCL1 and AKT at the same time triggered prostate cancer cell death. The combination of drugs significantly slowed tumour growth in mice with a specific tumour type, while using either drug alone had no effect.

Key Takeaways:

  • The combination of drugs, fadraciclib and capivasertib, slowed tumour growth and killed cancer cells in laboratory studies.
  • The drugs are already in clinical trials or approved for use in treating other cancers.
  • The study found that inhibiting MCL1 and AKT at the same time triggered prostate cancer cell death.
  • The combination of drugs slowed tumour growth in mice with a specific tumour type, PTEN-loss/PI3K-activated, which accounts for around 40% of patients with advanced prostate cancer.
  • The researchers hope to begin clinical trials of the drug combination soon for prostate cancer patients.
  • The study suggests that up to 40% of people with advanced prostate cancer could benefit from the treatment.

Statistics:

  • Around 55,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.
  • Once resistance to hormone therapy develops, effective treatments are limited and the prognosis for these patients is poor.
  • The combination of drugs significantly slowed tumour growth in mice with the PTEN-loss/PI3K-activated tumour type, from doubling in size in 10 days to not growing at all.
  • The researchers found that combining fadraciclib with either capivasertib or ipotasertib triggered prostate cancer cell death.
  • Capivasertib has been approved for use, while fadraciclib and ipatasertib are in clinical trials for treating other cancers.

Sources:

  • Institute of Cancer Research
  • The Wellcome Trust
  • Prostate Cancer Foundation
  • Prostate Cancer UK
  • The Cancer Research UK Convergence Science Centre
  • Nature Communications
  • Journal article: "Combination of CDK9 and AKT inhibitors triggers prostate cancer cell death"

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