Validation of new prostate cancer drug target
Ariad Pharmaceuticals has published a study defining, for the first time, the cause of progression of early-stage prostate cancer.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals has published a study defining, for the first time, the cause of progression of early-stage prostate cancer.
This discovery was made using a newly developed, predictive animal model of prostate cancer created with Ariad's patented cell-signaling regulation technology.
The pioneering research provides a means of developing and testing molecularly targeted drugs to prevent the progression of early-stage prostate cancer - an early-intervention strategy aimed at decreasing the mortality and morbidity of this common cancer in men.
A team of scientists used the Argent cell-signaling regulation technology to create transgenic animals in which a suspected cancer-associated protein known as Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1 (FGFR1) was intermittently turned on and off by administering one of Ariad's small-molecule compounds.
Their study showed that the development and progression of key pathologic changes seen in early-stage prostate cancer were directly dependent on FGFR1 activation and that the resultant early pathologic findings were completely reversible. Inhibition of FGFR1 activity now appears to be a key target for treating patients with early-stage prostate cancer to prevent progression of these precursor lesions to full-blown malignancy.
'This study provides further evidence of the broad utility of Ariad's cell-signaling regulation technology in drug discovery, including the creation of previously unattainable animal models of disease, in this case, early-stage prostate cancer,' said Dr Harvey Berger, chairman and chief executive officer of Ariad. 'The new animal model described compliments novel models for heart failure and hepatitis that previously were developed using our proprietary technology.'
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the US, and the second most common cause of cancer death in American men. In 2003, an estimated 220,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed, and approximately 29,000 prostate cancer deaths will occur.