NUNZIUM

A groundbreaking study led by the Institute of Cancer Research in London, the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and the Institute of Oncology Research in Switzerland, has unveiled a promising strategy to overcome prostate cancer's resistance to treatment. This pioneering research holds significant potential for the over a million men diagnosed with prostate cancer globally each year.

Cancer cells are notoriously adept at evading treatment. They manipulate the immune system to resist drugs, but this study found a way to thwart these rogue cells. By blocking the cells' covert messages that co-opt healthy white blood cells, the researchers were able to resensitize a subset of advanced cancer, leading to the shrinkage or cessation of tumor growth. This innovative approach, published in the scientific journal Nature, focuses on the "feeder" myeloid white blood cells that tumors use to fuel their growth.

The study involved patients with advanced prostate cancer that had become resistant to conventional hormone therapy. The patients were treated with a combination of an experimental drug, AZD5069, which prevents myeloid cell recruitment to tumors, and enzalutamide, a standard hormone therapy. The results were promising: out of 21 patients, five, or 24%, responded positively. Their tumors shrank by more than 30%, and they experienced significant decreases in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, a key marker of prostate cancer. Additionally, their blood levels of circulating tumor cells, a sign of the cancer's progression, also dropped significantly.

This research is the culmination of a decade of tireless work by the team, investigating how myeloid cells contribute to prostate cancer's growth. The study was funded by a consortium of organizations including Prostate Cancer UK, Cancer Research UK, the Swiss Card Onco grant organization, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, AstraZeneca, Wellcome, and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the Royal Marsden and ICR.

The medical community has warmly welcomed this breakthrough, with plans for a clinical trial based on these findings already in motion. Dr Matthew Hobbs, Prostate Cancer UK’s director of research, has urged pharmaceutical companies to collaborate with researchers to develop new drugs based on this research and test them in larger trials.

This research could potentially extend beyond prostate cancer, offering a new approach to treat other types of cancer. As we enter a new era in cancer treatment, this study paves the way towards more effective, targeted treatments, bringing us a step closer to a turning point in the battle against prostate cancer.