New Hope for Late-Stage Prostate Cancer Patients
Advanced prostate cancer patients who are resistant to hormone therapy may find new hope in existing drugs designed for other cancers. According to a recent study by the Institute of Cancer Research in London, combining breast and blood cancer drugs could halt the growth of tumours in the prostate. This breakthrough could potentially treat up to two in five patients with late-stage disease, offering them years more with their loved ones.
Key Takeaways:
- Up to 40% of patients with late-stage prostate cancer could benefit from a new combination of existing drugs.
- The combination of fadraciclib, capivasertib, and ipatasertib triggers prostate cancer cell death in lab samples.
- Inhibiting MCL1 and AKT at the same time, using these combinations, is a promising approach to treating advanced prostate cancer.
- The study highlights the potential for re-assessing existing drugs in innovative ways to overcome treatment resistance.
- The research was conducted by the Institute of Cancer Research's Translational Therapeutics Group, led by Dr. Adam Sharp.
Statistics:
- 10-15 years: the time it takes for new cancer drugs to go from development to approval on the NHS.
- 40%: the potential number of patients with late-stage prostate cancer who could benefit from the new combination of drugs.
- 2 in 5: the proportion of patients with late-stage prostate cancer who could potentially be treated with the new approach.
- 40%: the proportion of patients with PTEN-loss/PI3K-activated tumours who responded best to the combinations.
Sources:
- Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London
- Nature Communications journal
- Dr. Adam Sharp, leader of the Translational Therapeutics Group at ICR
- Professor Kristian Helin, ICR chief executive
- fadraciclib (blood cancer drug)
- capivasertib (breast cancer drug)
- ipatasertib (cancer treatment under investigation)