Prostate cancer program at UCLAs Jonsson Cancer Center designated a site of research ...( ostate stem cell antigen which sits on...),Health

ostate stem cell antigen, which sits on the surface of prostate cancer cells in about 80 percent of men with the disease. The study will evaluate the role of PSCA in the cause and progression of prostate cancer and examine the effects of antibody therapy targeting PSCA. The study ultimately will lead to clinical trials using a monoclonal antibody against PSCA in men with high-risk prostate cancer. In laboratory models, the antibody generated in Reiters UCLA laboratory has exhibited anti-tumor activity.

Drs. Charles Sawyers, Reiter and Diane Prager will test the drug rapamycin on a group of men whose prostate cancer cells lack PTEN, a gene that acts like a switch regulating access to a cell-signaling pathway. UCLA researchers have discovered that cells lacking PTEN are more sensitive to rapamycin. About 20 percent of men with prostate cancer lack the PTEN gene. The study also seeks to develop and optimize techniques to determine the status of the PTEN gene in patients through prostate biopsies.

Drs. Pinchas Cohen and Peter Tontonoz will study the potential interactions of two key cell-signaling pathways found to be important in prostate cancer development. The first involves growth factors known as insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and their binding proteins (IGFBPs), recently recognized as critical regulators of prostate cancer development. The second is a family of retinoid receptors that include the retinoid X receptor (RXR) and the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR). Evidence derived in UCLA labs indicates that the IGFBP and RXR pathways interact and synergize in inducing prostate cancer cell death. The researchers will attempt to use retinoids and IGFBPs to induce prostate cancer cell death, first in laboratory models and later in humans. Their goal is to develop less toxic, more effective treatments for men with advanced prostate cancer.

Drs. David Agus and Phillip Koeffler will focus on developing targeted
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Contact: Kim Irwin
kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu
310-206-2805
University of California - Los Angeles
22-Oct-2002

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