Many advanced prostate cancers learn to avoid being damaged by current treatments
Treatments for advanced prostate cancer also frequently bring life-changing side effects
New drugs that work in different ways are urgently needed
Advanced prostate cancer cells can’t repair themselves as well as normal cells can. We can use this to design better treatments
The team have discovered that a tiny piece of DNA-like material can damage advanced prostate cancer cells but not normal cells
They believe developing this as a new treatment could lead to more people surviving advanced prostate cancer and without causing life-changing side effects
Claire is a Lecturer of Molecular Oncology within the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London, where she completed her PhD and post-doctoral studies. Prior to this, she studied for a BSc in Cell Biology at Durham University and an MRes in Biomedical Research at Imperial College. Her research investigates how non-coding RNAs (including microRNAs) - the so-called ‘dark matter’ of the genome - play a role in prostate cancer development and how they can be used to develop better treatments. She also studies the role of fat in promoting aggressive prostate cancer.
Advanced prostate cancers can sometimes become resistant to drugs, leaving patients without any effective treatment options. Currently available drugs for this stage of the disease also have side effects which can have a serious impact on a person’s quality and enjoyment of life. New drugs that work in different ways are urgently needed, so that everyone with a cancer diagnosis has a treatment that works and can continue to lead a happy and healthy life.
There are trillions of cells in the human body, which are constantly dying and being replaced as part of normal growth and to keep us healthy. When this happens, a cell’s DNA may be damaged but normal cells can usually repair themselves. In advanced prostate cancer, many cancer cells lose the ability to repair their DNA when it is damaged – this could be the kind of “Achilles heel” we need to be able to treat advanced prostate cancer.
The team have discovered a tiny piece of DNA-like material, called a microRNA, that causes very high levels of DNA damage in prostate cancer, but not normal prostate cells. Thanks to support from PCR and Worldwide Cancer Research, they are aiming to turn this discovery into a new drug.
They will investigate the best way to get their new treatment inside cancer cells, find out how it slows down cancer growth and investigate any side effects that are likely and how to prevent them. The team hope that this project will bring them close to being able to launch their new treatment into a clinical trial.
We hope that this project will lead to a new treatment option for the people who need it most. This will ultimately mean more people survive prostate cancer and can avoid treatments with severe side effects such as chemotherapy.
