| Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer and Hsp90
Disease background and scientific rationale
Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous malignancy diagnosed in men in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 234,000 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually. Prostate tumors that are growing despite the reduction of circulating testosterone to very low levels are characterized as hormone-refractory. The only therapy at this time proven to improve survival for men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer, also known as castration-resistant prostate cancer, is docetaxel-based chemotherapy.
Multiple cellular proteins or pathways have been linked to the progression of hormone refractory disease in patients with prostate cancer, including the androgen receptor, the Her-2 receptor, and Akt. These proteins are all client proteins of Hsp90 and in preclinical experiments are degraded in prostate cancer cells upon treatment with retaspimycin, also known as
IPI-504, leading to cancer cell death. This suggests that Hsp90 inhibition with IPI-504 is a promising area for clinical investigation in HRPC.
Infinity is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating retaspimycin hydrochloride in patients with HRPC. Click here for more information on Infinity’s ongoing clinical trial in HRPC.
To help you learn more about HRPC, we have provided links to the following prostate cancer support groups:
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