Prostate Cell News Volume 2.12 | Apr 1 2011

Screening ‘Does Not Prevent Prostate Cancer Deaths’, 20-Year Study Concludes
Population-wide screening using the prostate-specific antigen test would not help to reduce the number of deaths from prostate cancer, a Swedish study suggests. [Press release from Cancer Research UK discussing online prepublication in the British Medical Journal]

New Tool Allows for an Alternate Method of Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Researchers have found that it may not be necessary to look for tumors directly in patients with prostate cancer — analyzing non-tumor tissue may be an effective option. [Press release from EurekAlert! discussing online prepublication in Cancer Research]

Gene Variant Could Increase Chances of Prostate Cancer Development
A fat-cell gene linked to colon and breast-cancer development now is linked to prostate cancer in overweight people in a new study. [Press release from the University of Alabama at Birmingham discussing online prepublication in Metabolism]

No Scalpel: Minimally Invasive Breakthrough for Men’s Enlarged Prostates Improves Symptom
A new interventional radiology treatment that blocks blood supply to men’s enlarged prostate glands shows comparable clinical results to transurethral resection of the prostate, considered the gold standard treatment. [Press release from the Society of Interventional Radiology discussing research presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 36th Annual Scientific Meeting]

Singapore General Hospital and National Cancer Centre, Singapore Pioneer New Non-Invasive Treatment for Prostate Cancer
For the first time, magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound is being used for the treatment of prostate cancer patients. [Singapore General Hospital Press Release]

LABORATORY RESEARCH

Trefoil Factor 1 Acts to Suppress Senescence Induced by Oncogene Activation During the Cellular Transformation Process
Researchers report that trefoil factor 1 acts as a promoter of tumorigenesis in the context of prostate and pancreatic cancers by suppressing oncogene-induced senescence. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

Targeted Identification of Metastasis-Associated Cell-Surface Sialoglycoproteins in Prostate Cancer
Researchers have combined glycan metabolic labeling with mass spectrometry analysis to identify and characterize metastasis-associated cell surface sialoglycoproteins. [Mol Cell Proteomics]

Cancer Associated Fibroblasts Exploit Reactive Oxygen Species Through a Proinflammatory Signature Leading to Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition and Stemness
Researchers demonstrate that cancer associated fibroblasts induce epithelial mesenchymal transition and stemness through a proinflammatory signature, which exploits reactive oxygen species to drive a migratory and aggressive phenotype of prostate carcinoma cells. [Antioxid Redox Signal]

Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Using Differentially Expressed Genes in Stroma
Results indicate that the prostate cancer microenvironment exhibits reproducible changes useful for categorizing the presence of tumor in patients when a prostate sample is derived from near the tumor but does not contain any recognizable tumor. [Cancer Res]

Role for Stromal Heterogeneity in Prostate Tumorigenesis
To test the hypothesis that prostate cancer progression is dependent on the heterogeneous TGF-ß responsive microenvironment, a tissue recombination experiment was designed where the ratio of TGF-ß responsive and nonresponsive stromal cells were varied. [Cancer Res]

Endoglin Regulates Cancer-Stromal Cell Interactions in Prostate Tumors
Results firmly establish the pathophysiological involvement of endoglin in prostate cancer progression, and they show how endoglin acts to support the viability of tumor infiltrating carcinoma-associated fibroblasts in the tumor microenvironment to promote neovascularization and growth. [Cancer Res]

Alterations in Nucleolar Structure and Gene Expression Programs in Prostatic Neoplasia Are Driven by the MYC Oncogene
These studies demonstrate that overexpression of the MYC oncogene increases nucleolar number and size and a nucleolar program of gene expression in prostate epithelial cells, thus providing a molecular mechanism responsible for hallmark nucleolar alterations in prostatic neoplasia. [Am J Pathol]

Downregulation of ZNF132 in Prostate Cancer Is Associated with Aberrant Promoter Hypermethylation and Poor Prognosis
Results show that downregulation of ZNF132 is associated with aggressive prostate cancer (PC) and furthermore identify ZNF132 as a new candidate methylation marker for PC. [Int J Cancer]

Modulation of the Tumor Cell Death Pathway by Androgen Receptor in Response to Cytotoxic Stimuli
Results provide compelling evidence for involvement of androgen receptor (AR) in deciding types of tumor cell death upon cytotoxic stimuli, and specifically, blockade of AR activities could change necrosis to apoptosis in tumor cells. [J Cell Physiol]

PI3 Kinase Inhibition on TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis Correlates with Androgen-Sensitivity and p21 Expression in Prostate Cancer Cells
Results suggest that TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) resistance is not regulated simply by a PI3-kinase/AKT survival pathway associated with inactivating PTEN mutations but may also be modulated by downstream androgen receptor responsive targets such as p21. [Apoptosis]

Polymorphisms of ADIPOQ and ADIPOR1 and Prostate Cancer Risk
Researchers studied the association of prostate cancer risk with haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms of the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) and adiponectin receptor 1 (ADIPOR1) chosen based on their functional relevance or association with other types of cancer. [Metabolism]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Short-Term Neoadjuvant Androgen Deprivation and Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer: 10-Year Data from the TROG 96.01 Randomized Trial
Six months of neoadjuvant androgen deprivation combined radiotherapy is an effective treatment option for locally advanced prostate cancer, particularly in men without nodal metastases or pre-existing metabolic comorbidities that could be exacerbated by prolonged androgen deprivation. [Lancet Oncol]

Randomized Prostate Cancer Screening Trial: 20 Year Follow-Up
After 20 years of follow-up the rate of death from prostate cancer did not differ significantly between men in the screening group and those in the control group. [BMJ]

The Androgen-Regulated Calcium-Activated Nucleotidase 1 (CANT1) Is Commonly Overexpressed in Prostate Cancer and Is Tumor-Biologically Relevant In Vitro
CANT1 is commonly overexpressed in the vast majority of primary prostate carcinomas and in the precursor lesion prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and may represent a novel prognostic biomarker. [Am J Pathol]

Duncan Cancer Center Researchers Awarded $15.9 Million in New Round of CPRIT Grants
Researchers in the National Cancer Institute-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine have received an additional $15.9 million in the new round of grants announced by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). [Baylor College of Medicine Press Release]

Dendreon Statement on CMS Proposed Decision Memo for PROVENGE®
Dendreon appreciates the work and diligent scientific review conducted by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that resulted in the draft decision memo, in which CMS proposes that the evidence is adequate to conclude that the use of autologous cellular immunotherapy with PROVENGE® improves health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant (hormone refractory) prostate cancer and thus is reasonable and necessary for that indication. [Dendreon Corporation Press Release]

Medivation and Astellas Announce Initiation of Phase II Clinical Trial Comparing MDV3100 With Bicalutamide in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Medivation, Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. announced treatment of the first patient in the TERRAIN study, a Phase II comparison of the investigational drug MDV3100, a triple-acting oral androgen receptor antagonist, with bicalutamide, a commonly used anti-androgen, in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer patients who have progressed while on LHRH analogue therapy or following surgical castration. [Medivation, Inc. Press Release]

Mitomics Launches Flagship Product – Prostate Core Mitomic Test™
Mitomics announced the launch of its flagship product, the Prostate Core Mitomic Test™, a revolutionary new test that uses the science of mitochondrial DNA to accurately determine the absence or presence of cancerous cells using previously obtained prostate biopsy tissue. [Mitomics Press Release]

President Mary McAleese Opens Prostate Cancer Institute NUI Galway
President Mary McAleese officially opened the new Prostate Cancer Institute at National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway. [National University of Ireland, Galway Press Release]

Alamance Regional Cancer Center Offers New Immunotherapy for Prostate Cancer
Alamance Regional Medical Center is offering a brand new immunotherapy treatment for advanced prostate cancer. [Alamance Regional Medical Center Press Release]

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