prostate-report.org

Posssible new treatments for hormone-resistant prostate cancer

Prostate cancer patients with advanced disease are often treated with hormones. A new thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden reveals that when the tumours start growing again they have more and different blood vessels.

Late in the course of the disease, when the prostate cancer has spread, most patients are given hormone therapy. This reduces the production of the male sex hormone and the tumour shrinks. Tumours have to make new blood vessels if they are to grow and spread in the body. The thesis shows that the tumours that have relapsed after a patient has been given hormone therapy contain more blood vessels. The blood vessels often also look different to how they looked during the earlier stages of the disease.

This discovery paves the way for new treatments for hormone-resistant prostate cancer. The research team at the Sahlgrenska Academy will now assess how these changes affect the function of the blood vessels and their sensitivity to different treatments.