School of Medicine

According to National Cancer Institute estimates, about 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 2020, with more than 33,000 deaths. As long as cancer remains in the prostate gland, many treatments, including surgery and radiation therapy, are effective. When prostate cancer spreads, hormone therapy is the standard treatment.

 

“Despite an initial response, almost all men fail current treatments and develop Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer,” notes Dr. Koul. “To date, we do not have a curative treatment for these cancer patients. There is an urgent yet unmet need for the identification and characterization of new targets for therapeutic intervention. Our goal is to address this vital knowledge gap by characterizing the role of Prostate Derived ETS Transcription Factor (PDEF) in prostate cancer, thereby reducing deaths.”    

 

Transcription factors copy or transcribe genetic instructions from DNA that is confined to the cell's nucleus to a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule. The mRNA molecule then translates and transmits the information to the parts of the cell that can make proteins. Many biological functions are performed by proteins. PDEF appears to play a key role in the transcription of instructions to prostate cancer cells.

 

Dr. Koul, who is also a Professor of Urology and Associate Director of the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center at LSU Health New Orleans, and his research team previously discovered a link between loss of PDEF and advanced prostate cancer. They also noted that prostate cancers that fail hormone therapy have decreased or undetectable levels of PDEF. They found that when they increased levels of PDEF in prostate cancer cells in the pre-clinical setting, these cancer cells were no longer able to form metastasis or spread outside of the prostate gland.

 

Focusing on PDEF as a therapeutic target is a groundbreaking conceptual advancement, which holds translational promise in identifying new treatments for Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC).

 

“Our goals are to broaden our understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which PDEF affects prostate cancer cells and test new treatments for CRPC,” adds Dr. Koul. “The accomplishment of these goals should substantially advance our understanding of prostate cancer progression, therapy resistance and metastasis. This research is likely to have a significant impact on saving lives of men suffering from prostate cancer by characterizing novel targets for intervention in the immediate future.”

 

The research project began on April 1, 2021.

 

“Dr. Koul is one of five LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine faculty who have been awarded nearly $7 million for their VA research projects,” adds Dr. Steve Nelson, Dean of LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine. “Our partnership will improve the health and quality of life for veterans.”