A new medication “shows promise” for the second most common cancer for men.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer in the U.S. this year and about 35,250 deaths from prostate cancer.
Roughly one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, but chances vary based on age, race/ethnicity, and other factors. Prostate cancer is more common in older men, with about six in 10 prostate cancers diagnosed in men who are 65 or older and 67 being the average age for a first diagnosis. The cancer is rare in men under 40.
The groundbreaking new study looked at how a medication, CDKI-73, a CDK9 inhibitor, can tackle drug-resistant prostate cancer. CDK9 is a protein kinase that plays a role in many cellular processes, including proliferation, survival, and cell cycle regulation. In the context of cancer, CDK9 is often implicated due to its role in regulating cell growth and survival.
“This study demonstrates that CDKI-73 is a promising candidate for treating solid tumors such as prostate cancer,” said Professor ShudongWang, who developed CDKI-73 and co-led the study, in a press release. “Our proof-of-principle study is an important step towards future clinical trials and these findings will inform future studies in the use and efficacy of CDKI-73 as a prostate cancer treatment.”
Fox News reports on the new drug that may “potently block” the growth of the common men’s cancer. Here’s the start of the story:
There may be a “promising new strategy” in combating aggressive forms of prostate cancer, according to a new study.
Researchers at Flinders University and the University of South Australia investigated how the novel drug, CDKI-73, has the potential to tackle drug-resistant prostate cancer.
This drug reportedly “defies conventional therapies,” as noted in the study findings, which were published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men, following lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
In 2024, around 299,010 new cases will be diagnosed and more than 35,000 men will die from the disease, per the ACS.
The disease “frequently evolves into aggressive forms that do not respond to standard hormone therapies,” according to Flinders University.
The researchers, including professors Luke Selth and Shudong Wang, targeted cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) – a protein responsible for the growth and survival of prostate cancer cells.
Selth, of Flinders University, confirmed in a press release that the CDKI-73 inhibitor has shown to be effective in blocking prostate cancer growth in models and tumor samples.