Stat3 Protein Could Be Key to Stopping Prostate Cancer
Scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University say it may be possible to stop the progression of prostate cancer by blocking a signaling protein called Stat3.
Recent studies have shown the Stat3 protein is conspicuously active in several types of metastatic cancer, including advanced prostate cancer. To get a better understanding of the role Stat3 plays in prostate cancer progression, Dr Marja Nevalainen of Jefferson Medical College and her colleagues conducted a series of experiments using mouse models.
During their prostate cancer investigation, the scientists found Stat3 was activated in 77 percent of lymph node metastases, as well as 66 percent of bone metastases. And when the scientists caused mice lacking immune systems to overproduce Stat3, metastases increased 33-fold.
The team’s findings offer evidence that Stat3 is involved with prostate cancer migration. As Dr Nevalainen said,
“This is the first proof that Stat3 may have a major effect on metastatic dissemination of prostate cancer. Stat 3 now becomes a potential drug target to interfere with the metastatic progression of prostate cancer.”
Marja Nevalainen, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Cancer Biology,
Thomas Jefferson University
If you’d like to learn more, the team’s findings are published in the June 2008 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
Source: Thomas Jefferson University News
Related Link: Cancer.Net
Related Podcast: Prostate Cancer Treatment Decisions Reviewed from the Medical University of South Carolina
Technorati Tags: male cancers; oncology; Philadelphia; targeted chemotherapy; urology
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