Professor Renea Taylor awarded Cancer Council Victoria funding for investigation into aggressive prostate cancer
Professor Renea Taylor from Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) and the team she leads at the BDI’s Prostate Cancer Research Group have received one of 12 Grants-in-Aid from Cancer Council Victoria.
This funding is awarded to high quality research projects that aim to discover and improve cancer prevention, detection, treatment and care for people affected by the disease. It will
support Professor Taylor’s ongoing research into why an aggressive form of prostate cancer – neuroendocrine prostate cancer – often fails to respond to chemotherapy.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in men and each week in Australia, about 75 men die from the disease*.
While neuroendocrine prostate cancer is rare, incidents are increasing and patients currently have limited treatment options. Once a patient is diagnosed with this form of cancer, chemotherapy quickly stops working and a patient may only survive months.
Professor Taylor, who is Co-Head of Monash BDI’s Cancer Program and Co-Director of Monash BDI’s Prostate Cancer Research Group, says neuroendocrine prostate cancer is increasing as modern hormone therapies extend survival, but also lead to therapeutic resistance.
Her research focuses on a protein (ALDH1A1) found in some neuroendocrine tumours that may be linked to poor treatment responses. Using patient-derived tumour models that closely reflect real human cancers, Professor Taylor is examining how ALDH1A1 affects tumour growth and chemotherapy resistance.
“The research will also explore how ALDH1A1 changes cancer cell behaviour and will identify weaknesses in ALDH1A1-positive tumours that could be targeted with existing or emerging treatments,” Professor Taylor said.
“This research will provide insights that could guide treatment decisions and support the development of more personalised therapies for patients with aggressive prostate cancer.”
Professor Taylor is collaborating with Professor Matthew Watt and Associate Professor David Pook. Professor Watt is Associate Dean (Research) at the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and is an internationally-renowned expert in lipid metabolism. Associate Professor Pook is a medical oncologist and Clinical Research Fellow in the Prostate Cancer Research Group at Monash BDI.
Professor Taylor says without new insights into prostate cancer, and particularly neuroendocrine prostate cancer, treatment options for newly-diagnosed patients will remain limited.
“My own father was diagnosed with prostate cancer 10 years ago, giving me a deeply personal understanding of its impact on families,” Professor Taylor said.
“This personal connection fuels my determination to pursue research that can make a tangible difference in patient outcomes, particularly those with the most aggressive types.”
*https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/prostate-cancer-australia-statistics
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About the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University
Committed to making discoveries that will relieve the future burden of disease, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University brings together more than 120 internationally renowned research teams. Spanning seven discovery programs across Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Development and Stem Cells, Infection, Immunity, Metabolism, Diabetes and Obesity, and Neuroscience, Monash BDI is one of the largest biomedical research institutes in Australia. Our researchers are supported by world-class technology and infrastructure, and partner with industry, clinicians and researchers internationally to enhance lives through discovery.