Cell Rep: Reveals a new molecular mechanism by which malignant prostate cancer subtypes are resistant to therapy

January 11, 2021 // -- In a recent study published in the international journal Cell Reports entitled "Post-transcription gene by regulation microRNA-194 promotes neuroendocrine transdifferentiation in prostate cancer", scientists from Flinders University and other institutions have found molecular mechanisms by which prostate cancer cells alter their properties and are resistant to therapy.
findings may help clarify the cause of malignant prostate cancer subtypes (NEPC, neuroendocrine prostate cancer) in the body after hormone therapy.
Photo Source: The Hospital Research Foundation is well known that some tumors exhibit increased cell plasticity under new or stressful conditions, such as cancer therapy, which may promote cancer cells to adapt and continue to grow by evolving into different cell types that no longer respond to therapy.
researcher Professor Luke Selth says increasing cell plasticity is now seen by a growing number of scientists as a key feature of prostate cancer's resistance to therapy and its progression to death.
in this study, researchers revealed a microRNA molecule called miR-194 that may enhance the plasticity of prostate cancer, leading to neuroendocrine prostate cancer, and by targeting miR-194, they were able to slow and inhibit tumor growth in cancer models that carry neuroendocrine prostate cancer.
although this study is still a long way from clinical use, it provides researchers with new insights to help shed light on how prostate cancer evolved to respond to therapy.
There is currently no treatment for neuroendocrine prostate cancer, and researchers speculate that up to 15 percent of men who undergo hormone therapy may develop into an invasive prostate cancer subsype, a problem scientists have to face because these male patients often face poor prognosis and health status.
By revealing other regulators that promote the plasticity of prostate cancer cells that promote tumor evolution, this paper examines or highlights why prostate cancer is so difficult to treat, and while the current situation is sobering to researchers, they hope to find new ways or strategies to treat neuroendocrine prostate cancer and even prevent it later through more in-depth joint research.
() Original source: Rayzel C. Fernandes, John Toubia, Scott Townley, et al. Post-transcriptional gene regulation by microRNA-194 promotes neuroendocrine transdifferentiation in prostate cancer, Cell Reports (2021). DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108585