Researchers searching for a target that would interfere with cancer metastasis identified a new suppressor of metastasis that may lead toward the development of more effective treatments for prostate cancer and other malignant solid tumors. More than 90% of patients with deadly cancers die because of metastatic spread of their disease. Activation of the PI3K/AKT signal pathway is known to drive prostate cancer progression to the castrate-resistant stage. A research team at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) identified a previously unknown metastasis suppressor, the FOXO4 protein, which belongs to a family of genes that are produced by all cells. The team demonstrated that FOXO4 works to prevent the spread of cancerous tumors by binding to and inhibiting the protein RUNX2, and in doing so, identified a circuit that controls metastatic progression in prostate cancer. The research team is now working with collaborators at the University of Maryland to test the effectiveness of an experimental agent that inhibits the RUNX2 function in preventing or impeding prostate cancer metastasis.
— Among patients with deadly cancers, more than 90 percent die because of metastatic spread of their disease. Gelman, Ph.D., of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) has identified a new suppressor of cancer metastasis that may point the way toward development of more effective treatments for prostate cancers and other malignant solid tumors.
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