New Study Raises Questions About Prostate Cancer Therapies Targeting Insulin-like Growth Factor Receptor

SEATTLE -- Therapies under development to treat prostate cancer by inhibiting the ability of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) to activate its target receptor could have unexpected results, especially if a major tumor suppressor gene -- p53 -- is already compromised, according to new research by investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. IGF-1 is a polypeptide hormone that can influence growth, differentiation and survival of cells expressing the type 1 receptor (IGF-1R). Past clinical, epidemiological and experimental studies have strongly implicated IGF-1 as a contributing factor in the natural history of prostate cancer. However, very little has been done to prove absolutely that the expression or acti...