Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in America (skin cancers excluded) affecting one in six men. In fact, more than 234,000 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Prostate cancer can cause pain, difficulty in urinating, erectile dysfunction and other symptoms.
Now, a team of researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, offer a promising weapon in the fight against prostate cancer. Angela Brodie, Ph.D., and Vincent C. O. Njar, Ph.D., both researchers at the university, developed a cadre of proprietary compounds that functionally inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells.
These inhibitors block the interaction between androgen, a steroid made by the body, and its receptors. Androgen receptors are thought to play a critical role in prostate cancer growth.
Androgren synthesis inhibitors offer patients a much-needed potential therapy for prostate cancer.
The research was supported with a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc., located in Cambridge, Mass., is the exclusive licensee of the androgen synthesis inhibitor technology.
This story was originally published in 2007.
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