Neutral Endopeptidase Inhibits Neuropeptide Medicated Growth of Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer
Abstract
Prostate cancer is the most common primary cancer among men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in males in the United States. While withdrawal of male hormones is the primary treatment for patients who develop advanced disease, most patients will show evidence of disease progression within 2 years. Secondary therapies are unsuccessful once tumors become hormone refractory, and most patients will die of their disease within 12 months resulting in 37,000 anticipated deaths in 1999. Understanding the mechanisms involved in the development of hormone resistance is crucial to developing therapies to treat hormone-refractory prostate cancer. We propose that growth of hormone-refractory prostate cancer is aided in part by the decreased presence of a cell surface enzyme, neutral endopeptidase, which normally functions to inactive growth factors which stimulate the prostate cancer cells to grow. The aim of this project is to delineate the role of neutral endopeptidase in regulating the growth of hormone refractory prostate cancer, and to define the mechanisms by which neutral endopeptidase can inhibit prostate cancer growth. Understanding the involvement of NEP in the progression to hormone refractory prostate cancer and in inhibiting prostate cancer growth will lead to the development of a clinical strategy for the use of neutral endopeptidase as therapy to treat this disease.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA404915
Entities
People
- Akira Iwase
Organizations
- Weill Cornell Medicine