Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Prostate cancer (PCA) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. While androgen deprivation therapy is a standard treatment for advanced PCA, most patients eventually relapse with an incurable, treatment-resistant form of the disease, with a survival rate of less than 2 years. Understanding the mechanisms driving this progression and identifying new therapeutic targets is critical to improving patient outcomes. This study focuses on a novel protein, DEAD-box Helicase DDX55, which is found at higher levels in prostate cancer tissues compared to normal prostate tissues. Notably, DDX55 expression is even more elevated in aggressive prostate cancer with poor survival rates and treatment resistance. Our preliminary findings reveal that reducing DDX55 levels selectively kills prostate cancer cells without affecting normal prostate cells, highlighting its potential as a specific therapeutic target. Using advanced molecular and cell biology techniques, we aim to unravel how DDX55 supports prostate cancer cell survival and its role in promoting treatment resistance. Specifically, we will investigate DDX55's interactions with other proteins that drive prostate cancer progression and analyze its regulatory functions. Additionally, we will test how suppressing DDX55 affects the growth and survival of prostate cancer cells, with the goal of determining its viability as a predictive marker or therapeutic target. By providing new insights into the role of DDX55 in prostate cancer progression, this research could pave the way for innovative strategies to treat advanced prostate cancer, ultimately improving survival rates and quality of life for patients