Monash prostate cancer research highlighted at scientific conferences

Dr Sarah To

Congratulations Dr Sarah To and Ms Heidi Fettke from the Prostate Cancer Therapeutics laboratory, who have been selected present their research at forthcoming conferences.

Postdoctoral researcher Dr To will present at the AACR Special Conference on Prostate Cancer in Orlando in December while PhD candidate Ms Fettke will present at the 4th Thomas Ashworth CTC and Liquid Biopsy Symposium in Sydney next week.

Ms Heidi Fettke

The Prostate Cancer Therapeutics laboratory headed by Associate Professor Arun Azad focuses on circulating androgen receptor variants in prostate cancer patients.

"Binding of androgens such as testosterone to the androgen receptor (AR) fuels the growth of prostate cancer cells,” Associate Professor Azad said.

“Therefore, the mainstay of treating advanced prostate cancer is to lower androgen levels within the body using androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).”

Androgen receptor splice variants (ARVs) are altered forms of the AR which are continuously activated and have been linked to resistance to ADT.

Associate Professor Azad’s group has now shown that detection of ARVs within the blood is not in fact associated with resistance to ADT.

“These findings are supported by the results of a recent pivotal clinical trial and have potentially key implications for the use of ADT in men with advanced prostate cancer", Associate Professor Azad said.