United States: Scientists have found that there was no dedicated treatment for severe forms of prostate cancer. Therefore, there may be a “promising new strategy” to combat aggressive forms of prostate cancer, as stated in a recent study.
More about the study
Researchers at Flinders University and the University of South Australia discovered that the novel drug, called CDKI-73, can target drug-resistant prostate cancer.
The report suggested the drug “defies conventional therapies,” more findings of which were published in the British Journal of Cancer.
More about prostate cancer
The American Cancer Society (ACS) revealed that the next cancer killer after lung cancer is prostate cancer, making it the second most frequent cause of cancer deaths among men in America.
According to Flinders University, the disease does constantly mutate into more formidable forms that do not get curbed by the standard hormone therapies.
The researchers involved in designing the study, including professors Luke Selth and Shudong Wang, focused on a protein known as cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), which plays a key role in facilitating the growth and survival of prostate cancer cells.
What more have the experts stated?
In an interview, Selth of Flinders University said in a press release that the CDKI-73 inhibitor has had a successful experiment in killing prostate cancer cells and stopping its growth in models and tumor samples.
He said, “Our research demonstrates that CDKI-73 potently blocks the growth of prostate cancer, even aggressive subtypes of the disease that are resistant to current treatments.”
“Importantly, CDKI-73 targets cancer cells specifically without harming normal cells,” he added.
He said, “Having said that, we still need to do a lot more work to fully understand the potential of CDK9 inhibitors and to deliver a new treatment for patients,” Fox News reported.
CDKI-73 is undergoing phase II clinical trials for patients with relapsed and therapy-resistant acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is a form of blood cancer that affects the blood marrow and blood cells, according to Flinders University.
However, Wang noted that more trials are being expected to be carried out by the research team before it is administered to patients, even though the discoveries are considered an “important step forward.”
Selth convinced all the men aged 50 and more and those aged 40 and more with a family history of prostate cancer to discuss with doctors about this screening during the general checkups.