Neuroendocrine prostate cancer is apparently the most morbid subtype of prostate cancer. Considering the gravity of the issue, scientists from the Weill Cornell Medical College have located a weak spot in neuroendocrine prostate cancer, something which could pave the path to treatment avenues.
The team utilized modern RNA sequencing to sort samples of 7 neuroendocrine prostate cancers, 30 prostate adenocarcinomas and 5 passive specimens of prostate tissue. As per the outcomes, the genes aurora kinase (AURKA) and MYCN seemed to be expressed severely and intensified in about 40% of neuroendocrine prostate cancers.
These genes were also observed in 5% of prostate adenocarcinomas. Also, the researchers found that when patients were exposed to the experimental AURKA inhibitor PHA-739358, it supposedly impeded the development of these neuroendocrine tumors.
“Although fewer than 2 percent of men with prostate cancer present with neuroendocrine prostate cancer, the more common prostate adenocarcinoma can also evolve into a neuroendocrine prostate cancer, and the prognosis is grim.This is a highly lethal form of prostate cancer. It is also rare enough that it’s hard to get samples. This study is the largest of its kind, and it shows that we may be able to treat this highly aggressive disease,†remarked Mark Rubin, M.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.
According to Rubin, PHA-739358 has been the subject of analysis many times, but it couldn’t be comprehended appropriately. One reason for this could be that those cancers were possibly not neuroendocrine tumors. Rubin concluded that prostate cancer is not a homogenous condition and more trials are required to create effective remedies for the same.
The research is published in the journal, Cancer Discovery.