China-Australia team reports cell weakness that may help fight prostate cancer
PDIA1 and PDIA5 aid prostate cancer growth but are ‘also promising targets for new treatments’, biologist and lead author of study says
An estimated 1.5 million men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, according to the American Cancer Society, and established risk factors for the disease are older age, family history and genetic susceptibility.
Prominent individuals affected include politicians such as former US president Joe Biden and the late South African president Nelson Mandela, business magnate Warren Buffett, and celebrities like Hollywood actor Ian McKellen and veteran Hong Kong opera singer Law Kar-ying.
The collaborative research team said a new therapeutic strategy to fight the disease might be developed in the future, after it identified two protein enzymes that play a crucial role in helping prostate cancer cells grow, survive and resist treatment.
The findings of the research, led by scientists from the South China University of Technology (SCUT) and Flinders University in Australia, were published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on October 14.
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China-Singapore team’s nanovaccine suppresses cancer recurrence and spread in animal tests
The androgen receptor (AR) protein is essential for male sexual development and maintenance, but it also plays a significant role in fuelling diseases such as prostate cancer. The team uncovered a key mechanism that could help regulate this protein.