Exonate prevents prostate cancer

Nottingham University is spinning out Exonate, a biotech set to exploit research that has shown to prevent prostate cancer. The research was conducted with the support of scientists at Bristol University.

The research discovered a molecule, dubbed Srpk1, is responsible for ensuring blood flow to a tumour which is crucial its growth and survival. By inhibiting the molecule with three weekly injections in mice, the researchers managed to stop the tumour from spreading.

Prostate cancer predominantly affects older men: 99% of cases are patients older than 50. In the UK, there are 40,000 new cases each year while the US sees 186,000 new cases a year, where it is the most common type of cancer in men.

The researchers hypothesised that the same inhibition of Srpk1 could also prevent other cancers.

Sebastian Oltean, co-author of the study at Bristol’s School of Physiology and Pharmacology, said: “We reasoned that inhibition of Srpk1 activity could stop cancer progression. Indeed, we show in this paper that if we decrease Srpk1 levels in prostate cancer cells we are able to inhibit tumour vasculature and growth. Our results point to a novel way of treating prostate cancer patients and may have wider implications to be used in several types of cancers.”