Cancer Spreads Throughout the Body When Using Common Prostate Cancer Treatment

Based on a recent study, it was found that the more commonly used prostate cancer therapy called, androgen deprivation therapy, may actually cause the cancer to spread to other parts of the body. Because prostate tumor growth is generally stimulated by male sex hormones, androgen deprivation therapy, in which those hormones are suppressed, is often given to patients in order to slow tumor growth.

Prior research has demonstrated that a protein called nestin tends to be produced by prostate cancer that have metastasized to other parts of the body. Nestin does not appear to be produced by cancer cells, however, in cases where the cancer has not spread.

Researchers experimented on androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells in the laboratory. When they cut off the cells' access to androgens, the cells increased their production of nestin.

The researchers then use the technique known as RNA interference to make the cancer cells less able to produce nestin. When the cells were transplanted into the bodies of mice, they were found to be less likely to spread to other locations than unmodified cells were. The nestin-production-hampered cells were also found to have a decreased ability to move through or around other cells when compared with unmodified prostate cancer cells.

No connection was found that the nestin levels had any impact on tumor growth. "What all this suggests is that nestin levels increased when prostate cancer cells are deprived of androgens and may encourage the cells to metastasize," according to one researcher.