Grant: Proof of Principle Program - Phase I

Androgen ablation therapy is the current treatment for advanced prostate cancer. This involves reducing circulating levels of testosterone (androgen) in the patient. Unfortunately, this form of therapy is not curative and eventually the disease will return in an androgen-independent form (grows in the absence of testicular androgens). Once the disease is androgen-independent, the survival time is less than two years before the patient will succumb to his disease. There are no effective therapies available for these patients. To develop new therapies, a target must be known. Our laboratory has discovered a new target for drug development and identified a family of small molecules (drugs) that work on this target. Here we propose to complete preclinical testing of these small molecules to evaluate their feasibility for clinical trials. We envision that upon conclusion of these studies, we will have characterized important small molecules that can be used for the development and optimization of new drugs that will delay or prevent the development of androgen-independent prostate cancer.