New drug prevents spread of prostate cancer cells

A new drug developed by Northwestern Medicine scientists prevented human prostate cancer cells from spreading to other tissues without any toxic effects to normal cells or tissues in mice. The drug works by binding to and disabling proteins that instruct the cancer cell to move. The drug inhibited movement of the cells and prevented them from metastasizing to the lung, one of the tissues to which prostate cancer spreads in men. The researchers conducted extensive toxicity studies, including on normal human cells, and found that the drug, called KBU2046, is nontoxic and does not cause any harmful effects. "We envision that this drug, if shown to be effective in clinical trials, could be used to treat men diagnosed with prostate cancer, so they wouldn't need more aggressive procedures," Raymond Bergan, a professor of medicine at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, said. "Or, the drug could augment the effectiveness of surgery and radiation."