New study reveals mechanism and process of bone metastasis in prostate cancer

In a study published recently in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute describe how prostate cancer cells develop the ability to mimic bone cells, allowing them to multiply in the micro-environment of the boneattack these cells with the radioisotope radon 233, a radioisotope that selectively attacks cells in bone transfer and has been shown to prolong the patient's lifeHowever, we need to better understand how radon works in the bonesimaging of this simulation process may lead to more efficient use of radon 233 and the development of new treatments to treat or prevent the spread of prostate cancer to the bone"Given that most men who die of prostate cancer have bone metastasis, this study is critical to understanding this process," said Andrew Armstrong, M.D., the study's lead author and director of the Duke Cancer Institute's Prostate cancer and urology cancer research centerArmstrong and his colleagues recruited a small team of 20 patients with symptoms of osteopathic prostate cancerWhen analyzing circulating tumor cells from study participants, they found that bone-forming enzymes appeared to be commonly expressed, and genetic changes in bone-forming pathways in these prostate cancer cells were commonthey confirmed the new gene findings in a separate multicenter trial involving more than 40 patients with prostate cancer and bone metastasisafter treatment with radon-223, the researchers found that radioisotopes were concentrated in the bone metastasis, but the tumor cells were still circulating and the cancer progressed within six months of treatmentThe researchers found a complex series of genetic changes in these tumor cells that may allow them to persist and develop resistance to radiation over time"Bone imitation may help prostate cancer to metastasize to the bone to some extent, but it may also help to absorb radon-223 in the bone metastasis, thereby enhancing the efficacy of this bone-targeted radiation therapy," saidArmstrongBy mapping the deadly pathway of bone metastasis in prostate cancer, he said, the study points to new targets for better tumor-targeted treatments, pointing the way for key areas of researchReferences:Andrew JArmstrong et alPharmacodynamics of radium-223 in-the-men with bone-bone metastatic castastatic cast adt prostate PLOS ONE DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216934