FCMHW PROGRAM: Improving precision medicine for men being treated for prostate cancer
Contact: Dr Ashley Hopkins
Overview:
A large proportion of men who are being treated for metastatic prostate cancer, are also concurrently being treated, acutely, or long-term for comorbid health conditions. These may be for communicable (infectious disease), but most commonly non-communicable diseases including Type 2 Diabetes, renal and cardiovascular disease, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. While adverse drug-drug interactions are at the pharmacokinetic level are well established before drugs are released onto the market for human use, drug-drug interactions in the clinic, in terms of efficacy and outcomes of metastatic prostate cancer treatment, are poorly understood.
The aim of this project is therefore to determine the impact of commonly prescribed classes of concomitant non-cancer medicines (i.e.antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors, lipid- and blood glucose-lowering medications) on the efficacy of treatments for metastatic prostate cancer. To achieve this, we will exploit large clinical trial datasets, sophisticated data analytic methods (e.g. machine learning) and biologically-informed models.
Men with metastatic prostate cancer are treated with anti-cancer therapies but are also often receiving other medications for comorbid health conditions. Understanding which drugs work best with each other to optimise the treatment and outcomes of multiple conditions concurrently will assist in efforts to personalise men’s medical management.