New drugs 'promising' for treating drug-resistant prostate cancer

Researchers have found a new type of drug that could benefit men with aggressive prostate cancer, a drug-resistant disease that is difficult to treat as it does not respond to hormone treatment, according to the website of the Institute of Cancer Research.

In a study on mice done by researchers at the London-based institute, Hsp90 inhibitors were found to strip cancer cells of defenses against hormone treatments, which makes the drugs particularly promising for treating drug-resistant cancers, the research team said.

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of the research institute, said it was an exciting discovery.

"We call Hsp90 inhibitors 'network drugs' because they tackle several of the signals that are hijacked in cancer all at once, across a network rather than just a single signalling pathway," he said.

"These drugs can hit cancer harder than those targeting only one protein, and look promising for preventing or overcoming drug resistance," he added

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men over the age of 50 in the UK.

About one in eight men will get prostate cancer at some point in their lives. Endi