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Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. Despite medical advances in recent years, this type of tumour is still responsible for one in eight male cancer deaths in Austria alone. An international research team led by MedUni Vienna has now investigated a new strategy for the development of treatment options that not only slow tumour growth, but also stimulate the immune system to combat tumour cells. The results of the study have just been published in the top journal Molecular Cancer.
The scientific team focused its investigations on the GP130 signalling pathway, which researchers expect to have a major potential in the fight against cancer. The background: the signalling pathway, which is mediated by the protein GP130, plays a central role in cell communication and influences the activity of the transcription factor STAT3, which in turn is associated with the development and spread of tumours. Accordingly, blocking the GP130 signalling pathway is currently seen as a great hope in cancer medicine. Yet the current study proves the opposite: tumour growth can be slowed down not by inhibiting but by activating the GP130 signalling pathway in prostate cells.
New hope, especially for aggressive tumours
To achieve these new findings, the researchers investigated genetically modified mice in which GP130 was specifically activated in the prostate. “This allowed us to directly observe the reduction in tumour growth in the cell,” reports Lukas Kenner (Clinical Department of Pathology, MedUni Vienna), who led the study together with Stefan Rose-John (Biochemical Institute, University of Kiel). The results were further backed up by analyses of tissue samples from prostate cancer patients. This showed that high GP130 values correlate with a better survival rate. At the same time, extensive molecular analyses were carried out, including gene expression profiling.
“Our research provides exciting new evidence that the activation of GP130 in prostate cells not only slows tumour growth, but also stimulates the immune system to actively fight the cancer cells,” says Lukas Kenner, summarising the significance of the results, which will now be confirmed in further studies. The research work opens up a promising new therapeutic option, particularly for aggressive prostate cancer, which is still difficult to treat.