Microtubule-Targeting Therapy for Prostate Cancer
Abstract
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the U.S. In the early stage of the disease, the treatments of choice are extensive surgery and/or radiation therapy. Although both treatment modalities are effective, they are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. When local therapies for prostate cancer fail and the disease progresses, systemic androgen ablation therapy, with or without chemotherapy, can frequently lead to tumor regression. However, the disease inevitably progresses to an androgen-independent state that is resistant to hormonal therapy and chemotherapy. Thus, the development of alternative therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer in the early and the late stages remains a high priority. The focus of our research is to develop a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of prostate cancer that targets the microtubules that make up the mitotic spindle. Stathmin is a founding member of a family of microtubule-destabilizing proteins that play a critical role in the regulation of mitosis. This protein is expressed at high levels in a wide variety of human malignancies, including prostate carcinoma. When biopsy specimens from human prostate cancers were immunostained with an antistathmin antibody, immunoreactivity was seen in poorly differentiated tumors but not in hyperplastic prostate or in highly differentiated prostate cancer. More importantly, the level of expression of stathmin was shown to correlate with the malignant behavior of prostate cancer cells. As a matter of fact, it was proposed that the level of expression of stathmin may serve as an important prognostic marker in prostate cancer. Thus, stathmin provides an attractive target for prostate cancer therapy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA470022
Entities
People
- George F. Atweh
Organizations
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai