UBC scientists say they have opened the doors to treating prostate and other cancers.
The UBC Health and Medicine department says the research focuses on targeting a part of the androgen receptor, a type of protein that fuels the growth of most prostate cancers.
Dr. Marianne Sadar, a professor in the university’s department of pathology and laboratory medicine, says the androgen receptor causes the proliferation of prostate cancer cells by turning genes that can lead to the growth of a tumour on and off.
“The findings could have profound implications for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, providing a roadmap for the development of new treatments.”
According to Sadar, most drugs for prostate cancer focus on the rigid end of the receptor that gets lost as cancer develops.
Her discovery focuses on controlling the other end of the receptor to prevent the proliferation of the disease. She says it is hard to treat that part of the receptor, given that it changes its shape like a “wet spaghetti.”
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“If you think of the androgen receptor as being the engine that’s driving prostate cancer to grow, our drugs will bind to it, will attach onto it and stop that from occurring,” said Sadar.
In a release, Sadar’s co-researcher, Dr. Raymond Andersen, professor in the department of chemistry, said their drugs were able to shut down the androgen receptor even in situations where current prostate cancer drugs stop working.
Sadar says she hopes to offer a form of therapy to the estimated number of people who might contract cancer in 2026.
“This is the dream of most academics in health research,” said Sadar, who has been researching treating cancer since the 1990s.
“It comes down to the hope that what you’re doing in the lab will eventually translate into helping patients.”
As the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) reported, prostate cancer, along with lung, breast, and colorectal cancers, are expected to account for 47 per cent of 254,100 new cases in 2026.
The CMAJ also said prostate cancer, a commonly diagnosed disease among males, is one of the five causes of cancer-related death.
The Canadian Cancer Society estimated that the number of Canadians who will die of cancer increased from 87,400 in 2025 to 87,900 in 2026.
On its website, the Canadian Cancer Society said prostate cancer, which occurs in one out of eight males in Canada, is one of the least-preventable cancers.
“Advancements in prostate cancer research are vital to save and improve lives,” it said.
Sadar says her team plans to begin the clinical trial with the newly developed drugs, following the past clinical trials that took place in 2015 and 2021, while hoping that the improved drugs are not proven to be toxic to the patients.
As a dedicated researcher of cancer, she said she was delighted to see the treatments for prostate cancer expanding.
Her message to the people who are suffering from cancer?
“We’re still trying to understand really advanced disease — how to keep it under control. But even now, there’s been great progress,” said Sadar.
“So be hopeful. We’re getting there.”