When prostate cancer metastasis reaches the bones, it is fatal . Fortunately, a new study from Thomas Jefferson University (USA) and published in the journal Cancer Research opens up a path of hope in the fight against this cancer: a new drug that blocks the spread of this type of cancer to the bones.
The drug is based on the CCR5 receptor , best known for its important role in HIV therapy. The researchers wanted to find out if this same receptor might also play a key role in prostate cancer metastasis, as previous studies on breast cancer had suggested.
The scientists analyzed the genes for bone and brain tumor metastases and found that CCR5 receptor signaling was also involved in the cancer drive . Thus, they administered the drug CCR5 in a new mouse model with prostate cancer. After comparing it with the control group, the new drug drastically reduced the metastatic load by 60% in bone, brain and other organs .
“Because this work shows that we can dramatically reduce metastasis in preclinical models, and since the drug is FDA approved for HIV treatment, we may be able to prove early that this drug can block metastasis in patients with prostate cancer, ”says Richard Pestell, lead author of the study.
