A breast cancer drug could be used to stop prostate cancer returning after tumours have been removed, a study suggests.
The drug, used to treat breast cancer, acts by stopping tumours carrying out repairs to their own DNA – leading to cancer cells becoming weak and dying.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with 40,000 cases reported every year. One in four will end in death.
One of the main treatments for prostate cancer is anti-hormone therapy.
This reduces levels of the male hormones that stimulates cancer cells into growing.
Cancer Research UK says there is growing evidence that men could fight off prostate cancer with inhibitors currently used to stop tumours returning in women’s breasts
But one of the problems is that it has a side effect – stimulating the DNA repair mechanism in the cell.
This can lead to surviving cancer cells becoming more aggressive.
But the breast cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors – if used together with anti-hormone therapies – can stop the repair effect.
The body is better able to fight and kill cells with damaged DNA rather than ‘healthy’ ones.
The Institute of Cancer Research, carried out tests on human prostate cancer tissue in the laboratory.
Lead author Dr Mohammad Asim from the University of Surrey, said: ‘Prostate cancer is a devastating illness with a high death rate. Our exciting discovery will help remedy this and increase chances of survival for the thousands of men who contract the disease every year.
‘Our research shows that anti-hormone treatment could be combined with PARP inhibitor to prevent the progression of the disease.’
Dr Catherine Pickworth from Cancer Research UK, said: ‘This early stage study adds to the growing evidence that some men with prostate cancer could benefit from being given PARP inhibitors alongside hormone deprivation treatment.
‘The next step is to carry out clinical trials to test if this treatment combination is safe to use in patients and if it helps more men survive the disease.’
Dr Matthew Hobbs, Deputy Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK said: ‘One man dies from prostate cancer every 45 minutes. Prostate Cancer UK is determined to stop this tragic loss of life but to do that we need to get the maximum benefit from new and existing treatments.
‘PARP inhibitors have already been shown to work in other cancers, and in some late stage prostate cancers. By explaining more about how prostate cancer grows, this important new research helps to show how PARP inhibitors might also be able to fight the cancer at an earlier stage.
‘These results build on previous research funded by Prostate Cancer UK, and we are pleased to see it reach this point.
Inhibitor Olaparib is used to treat women who have the BRCA gene mutation, which was carried by Angelina Jolie, and leads to higher risks of breast and ovarian cancer
‘Changes to treatment won’t happen overnight but this understanding of what is happening in a man’s body should help increase the success of clinical trials, and maximise the number of men who can benefit from this new way of treating prostate cancer.’
The PARP inhibitor drug Olaparib is used in women who have the BRCA gene mutation. This mutation, carried by Angelina Jolie, leads to a significantly higher chance of breast and ovarian cancer.
Developed by researchers in Sheffield, Cambridge and London over the past 20 years, it was made available to women on the NHS in 2015.