Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR)Cancer Research (ICR) have revealed in a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that an existing targeting drug could successfully treat more individuals living with advanced prostate cancer.
In the UK, prostate cancer is responsible for around 12,000 deaths every year.
In advanced prostate cancer, abnormal cells begin to spread and grow in surrounding tissues or organs, as well as other areas of the body.
According to previous research, up to 30% of men living with the advanced disease have tumours that contain defects in repairing DNA, some of which respond well to PARP inhibitor drugs, including AstraZeneca and Merck & Co’s – known as MSD outside the US and Canada – Lynparza (olaparib).
The RNASEH2B gene plays a role in repairing certain forms of DNA damage and when it is deleted or ‘lost’ during cell division or replication, it no longer functions as it should.
In addition, researchers evaluated both pre- and post-treatment biopsy samples from patients living without BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations (tumour suppressor genes) who participated in the TOPARP-A and TOPARP-B clinical trials conducted by the ICR’s Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit and found that the number of cells with RNASE2B loss decreased in 13 out of 18 patients following PARP inhibitor treatment, while six of 18 patients experienced a decline in circulating tumour cells – three of which benefitted from relapse-free survival between eight and 22 months.
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