As prostate cancer progresses, it becomes increasingly aggressive and can metastasise. In this form, the tumor is difficult to treat, which is reflected in high mortality rates: Worldwide, the malignant disease of the prostate is the second most common cause of cancer death in men. An international study led by Lukas Kenner (MedUni Vienna) and Sabine Lagger (Vetmeduni Vienna) has now identified a protein that could slow tumor growth.
The results, which have just been published in the top journal "Molecular Cancer", provide a new starting point for the development of therapies. The complex molecular processes that lead to the progression of prostate cancer have not yet been fully clarified by science. The protein known as JUN is being intensively researched as a possible driver of tumor growth.
" Numerous studies have shown that JUN is produced excessively in cancer. So, a link has been established between tumor growth and high JUN levels ," says Lukas Kenner (Clinical Institute of Laboratory Medicine at MedUni Vienna, Department of Laboratory Animal Pathology at Vetmeduni Vienna), explaining the background to the current study. In collaboration with national and international partners, it was shown that the opposite is the case with prostate cancer: the research team's investigations using a mouse model and clinical samples revealed that the progression of prostate cancer is not accelerated but slowed down when JUN is present in high levels.
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