Big fat solution to stop the spread of prostate cancer

Researchers from the Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing have discovered a new way to stop the spread of prostate cancer that could be fast-tracked as a treatment option.

The latest work found prostate cancer cells can be stopped in their tracks by targeting the fats they rely on as fuel. Corresponding author, Professor Lisa Butler says manipulating the amount of fat in cancer cells is the key to destroying them.

“These fats can either be taken up through our diet or be generated in the cancer cells themselves,” she said.

“But the levels need to be carefully controlled by those cancer cells, as too much fat is toxic to them.”

The studies recently published in Molecular Cancer Research and eLife have shown that depriving cells of the enzyme responsible for regulating the quantity of fat they need to survive causes them to overload and die.

“We found that cancer cells use the enzyme DECR1 to both generate more energy and protect the cells from death due to excess fat levels. Starving the cells of DECR1 killed them,” Professor Butler said.

The process of overloading fat in cancer cells could be achieved in the human body with the help of drugs that are already available, meaning people living with prostate cancer wouldn’t have to wait years for a new medication to be tested and approved before they can reap the benefits.

“Our work provides the ground-breaking opportunity to take drugs that are already being used for conditions such as angina and repurposing them for prostate cancer treatment to improve prognosis and quality of life,” Professor Butler said.

Researchers have proven the effectiveness of this treatment method with successful tests on live tumours donated by men being treated for prostate cancer in Adelaide.

“Having quick access to freshly removed tumours allowed us to confirm that blocking fat metabolism in clinical prostate tumours stops cancer cells from growing and spreading,” Professor Butler said.

“This is a great example of what can be achieved through collaboration between scientists, doctors, nurses and patients.”

It’s hoped clinical trials will soon be undertaken to approve the use of these drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer, to give patients a life changing tool that’ll help them live longer, happier lives.

“This breakthrough might prove to be a crucial factor in slowing the mortality rate and giving patients a better chance of preventing relapse,” Professor Butler said.

Prostate cancer currently accounts for 13% of male cancer deaths in Australia, a statistic that’s expected to rise dramatically in the coming years due to the country’s aging population.

Researcher profile: Phoebe Drioli-Phillips

The Centre is proud to have Phoebe Drioli-Phillips on board as a member dedicated to breaking new ground in the study of Australia’s most prevalent mental health disorder among men, anxiety.

Phoebe is in the final stages of completing her PhD in the Doctor of Psychology at the University of Adelaide with a keen interest in studying men's mental health and health related communications, help-seeking behaviours and health service utilisation.

In Australia, around one in ten men report having at least one anxiety-related condition. Despite this fact, Phoebe has noted there is a lack of academic research focusing on men's experiences with anxiety. She says the majority of emphasis has been placed on investigating depression and she sees it as her mission to work towards addressing this gap in knowledge by furthering our understanding of how anxiety impacts men.

"What a lot of people don't know is that anxiety, like depression, is also very strongly associated with suicide. So for me, it's really important that we improve our understanding of what it is to be a man living with anxiety in Australia.”

As part of her PhD studies, Phoebe analysed accounts of men describing their experiences of anxiety in online discussion forums and found men are blaming themselves for having the disorder.

“What we found is that the psychological and emotional burden of anxiety is so debilitating, that it is experienced as a sense of having lost control, being immobilised, or having lost function…Men in this study were caught in a vicious cycle wherein not only are they experiencing anxiety itself, but additionally the guilt and sense of weakness they feel from the self perception of being someone suffering from anxiety, compounds their distress.”

Phoebe’s important findings show how devastating anxiety can be to male wellbeing and that men have a tendency to blame themselves for their suffering. It’s a fact she believes clinicians need to be made aware of in order to facilitate a judgement free environment when working with men to ensure they receive the support they need to regain a sense of self-control that could be the difference between life and death.