Factors Essential for Prostate Cancer Metastasis Revealed Through a Novel 3D Microtissue Assay
Abstract
It is estimated that one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. In addition to this, 30,000 men are expected to die of this disease every year in the United States alone. Despite over eight billion dollars in research funding supporting the pursuit of prostate cancer therapies every year, the survival rate from this disease has barely increased. The single most important factor contributing to this lack of advancement is the frequent spread or "metastasis" of prostate cancer to bone. Metastatic bone disease invariably results in limited surgical accessibility, frequent development of therapeutic resistance and pathological bone fractures. Data clearly show that the interactions of prostate cancer cells with tumor supporting cells in bone, including osteoblasts and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are critical to the persistence and spread of bony cancer metastases. To date, there are no cures for prostate cancer that has spread to bone. Only palliative treatments are available to delay disease progression and to mitigate tumor-derived bone pain and destruction. Therefore, efforts to understand prostate cancer-stromal interactions are critical to improving survival and appropriately are within the scope of the Fiscal Year 2014 Prostate Cancer Research Program challenge and focus areas. The studies proposed in this application are designed to advance the application of a novel method created to specifically assess how prostate cancer cells home to bone. An innovative 3D "osteoblastic niche spheroid" assay faithfully mimics the environment of bone and will be used to reveal factors that are critical to the spread and survival of prostate cancer in bone. These factors will ultimately be exploited as novel targets for therapeutics development in strategies intended to disrupt and prevent the spread of prostate cancer to bone, representing unique and valuable adjuncts to currently available therapies for prostate cancer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 2016
- Source ID
- W81XWH1510058
Entities
People
- Seunghwan Lim
Organizations
- Case Western Reserve University
- United States Army