Breakthrough in Prostate Cancer Treatment Resistance Unveiled
Researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a mechanism that causes prostate cancer cells to become resistant to current drug treatments. The study, published in Nature, reveals that prostate cancer cells undergo epigenetic changes, rather than genetic mutations, to resist androgen receptor inhibitors. This discovery was made by Michael Shen, Ph.D., and his team, who found that these changes allow cancer cells to adopt neuroendocrine characteristics, making them drug-resistant. The research also highlights a potential treatment pathway involving the inhibition of the enzyme NSD2, which plays a crucial role in these epigenetic changes. The study suggests that targeting NSD2 could reverse treatment resistance, allowing cancer cells to become sensitive to hormone therapy once again.