Genre: Information/Explanation

Identification of Prostate Cancer Stem Cells in Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer ( HRPC ) Prostate Stem Cell Team Section : Section of Molecular Carcinogenesis The mainstay of treatment for prostate cancer that has failed radical local treatment is androgen deprivation therapy . This induces a remission in more than 90 % of advanced prostate cancer patients that lasts for a median of 18 months . With time , however , all patients relapse with hormone refractory disease with an overall median survival of 23-37 months . Our aim is to characterise stem cells within hormone refractory cancer and to determine differences between normal and cancer stem cells that may indicate potential therapeutic targets . We are collecting trans-rectal needle biopsies of the prostate from hormone refractory patients and deriving primary cultures from them . As for normal stem cells , CD133 can be used to isolate cancer stem cells and we are in the process of analysing differences in the gene expression profiles between HRPC stem cells and transit amplifying cells as well as between normal and cancer stem cells . We can then isolate stem cells for analysis and use the cultures and cell lines derived from them to screen for therapeutic targets and as testing tools for drug development . This project is being carried out in collaboration with Johann de Bono , Chris Parker and David Dearnaley in the Section of Medicine .