Grant: Operating Grant

Androgens are hormones produced and secreted by the testes. They have been strongly implicated in prostate cancers. These hormones act by activating a protein inside the cell called the androgen receptor (AR). The AR controls the levels of specific genes in cancer cells and promotes tumor growth. Therefore, drugs inhibiting AR function are used to treat patients with prostate cancers in advanced stages. Unfortunately, this therapy is only effective for a short period of time. Though it is not clear why anti-AR therapies fail, recent research finds that cancer cells can produce a smaller form of AR, called AR-V7. AR-V7 stimulates tumor growth even under current anti-AR therapies. We therefore propose to investigate: 1) how the AR-V7 is generated; 2) whether the amount of AR-V7 protein in prostate tumors predicts the outcome of cancer patients; and 3) whether inhibition of AR-V7 function can provide a new opportunity for patients who fail anti-AR therapy.