Identification of tumor stroma-derived multi-biomarkers for predicting castration-resistant prostate cancer

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26861266
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Urology
• Research Institution: Mie University
• Principal Investigator: Sasaki Takeshi 三重大学, 医学部附属病院, 助教 (20644941)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 前立腺癌 / 癌関連線維芽細胞 / PSA / マルチバイオマーカー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In patients with prostate cancer (PCa), serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a useful marker for evaluating the effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). However, the mechanism remains unknown. Tumor stroma surrounding cancer cells is enriched in fibroblasts secreting AR-stimulating factor in the context of androgen deficiency. Therefore, we investigated the role of fibroblasts in serum PSA decline after ADT. We performed co-culture and co-inoculation experiments using androgen-sensitive, androgen receptor (AR)-positive prostate epithelial cell lines (LNCaP, 22Rv1, and RWPE-1 cells), commercially available prostate stromal cells (PrSC), and primary cultures of prostate fibroblasts (pcPrFs). Our results demonstrated that fibroblasts prolong serum PSA decline after ADT. We hypothesize that pre-therapeutic characteristic of fibroblasts may reflect in serum PSA kinetics after ADT, which could be a critical biomarker for predicting CRPC.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学