NEW treatments that target small molecules found in prostate cancer stem cells could be developed following a £170,000 award from Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Professor Norman Maitland and colleagues at the YCR Cancer Research Unit, based at the University of York’s Department of Biology, will spend three years investigating molecules known as microRNAs.
Professor Maitland said: “Our research has shown that a minor population of prostate cancer stem cells is responsible for tumour spread and for the recurrence of cancers after treatment. We have recently discovered that expression of molecules known as microRNAs is extremely high in these stem cells from every patient we have tested.”
The team has found that blocking the expression of these molecules can destroy some of the properties which make a cancer stem cell resistant to treatment.
The team at the YCR Cancer Research Unit achieved international recognition in 2005 when they became the first to identify prostate cancer stem cells, which are believed to be the ‘root cause’ of prostate cancer.
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