Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Institute for Molecular Medicine (VIMM) have developed a new drug that prevents prostate cancer from reaching an advanced and incurable stage in the bones.
The study showed that the new drug also enhances the effectiveness of traditional chemotherapy, opening up prospects for treating metastatic tumors.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men, and when it spreads to the bones, treatment becomes difficult, leading to bone problems, a decline in quality of life, and in many cases, death.
The process of cancer metastasis to the bones involves the implantation of tumor cells into bone tissue, followed by the formation of physical and functional relationships with surrounding tissues, which promotes tumor growth and weakens the bone. Researchers explained that understanding the genes responsible for this tumor-bone interaction is essential for developing effective treatments.
The team discovered that the MDA-9/syntenin gene plays a key role in tumor growth and metastasis to the bones. Using the new drug IVMT-Rx-4, the researchers were able to inhibit this gene and prevent tumor metastasis to the bones in laboratory experiments, without any apparent side effects. The drug works in part by disrupting the interaction of two important proteins, PDGF-AA and CXCL5.
The study also showed that combining IVMT-Rx-4 with the drug "Dostaxel," a common chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer, improves survival rates in cases of cancer that has spread to the bones.
Paul P. Fisher, one of the study's leaders, said: "Our results suggest that this drug could enhance the effectiveness of traditional treatment and offer a new approach to dealing with the significant health complications of advanced prostate cancer."
The team also plans to study another drug called PDZ1i, of which IVMT-Rx-4 is part of the development, and which will be clinically evaluated by 2027, with expectations of improved therapeutic properties such as better water solubility and reduced tumor resistance without toxicity.
The study was published in the journal Pharmacological Research.
