No Shave November: A New Discovery to Treat Prostate Cancer

Movember: A moustache (started in England) growing charity event in November that raises funds and awareness for men's health. Source 

During the month of November men everywhere opt out of shaving and sport their best mustaches in support of men’s health. As if it were fate, scientists published discovery this month that could prevent tumors from spreading. Researchers found a way to stop the body from producing a molecule found in new blood vessels that result in new prostate cancer cells, basically stopping tumors from spreading any further.

What is a tumor and what is prostate cancer?

A tumor (or a neoplasm) is an abnormal growth of tissue. This is a result of cells that have an abnormal growth pattern. Some tumors are not cancer, known as benign tumors, which do not spread to other areas of the body. Malignant tumors, on the other hand, are tumors that have the potential to spread and invade other parts of the body. If they spread to vital organs, cancer becomes deadly.

Tumors need a constant supply of nutrient-rich blood to spread. Blood is supplied to tumors through a mechanism known as angiogenesis: the process in which new blood vessels are formed from old ones.

The process of angiogenesis.

Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in the prostate gland. Many times the cancer cells spread from the prostate to other parts of the body through lymph nodes. Symptoms of prostate cancer include pain in the pelvis or back when urinating, difficulty urinating, and blood in the urine.

Prostate cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer in males and the sixth leading cause of death. More than 80% of men will develop prostate cancer by the age of 80, and is most commonly found in men over 50. It is one of the deadlier cancers with a lower cure rate than testicular cancer. If caught early, survival rate is much higher. Movember and other efforts have brought awareness to early detection as well as raising money for prostate cancer research.

How have scientists figured out a way to prevent prostate cancer from spreading?

Cancer treatment is a research priority throughout the world, and recently researchers may have discovered a breakthrough in ways to treat it. If the blood supply to a tumor is cut-off, the tumor will stop growing; the same way a car will stop going if it’s gasoline supply is cut-off. Scientists from University of Bristol and the University of Nottingham identified molecules called SRPK1 that play a vital role in angiogenesis.

Using samples of prostate cancer in mice, the researchers found that SRPK1 levels increase as the cancer progresses and spreads more aggressively. They also found that if they decrease levels of SRPK1 in mice, they also inhibited tumor growth.

Figure from study. Arrows indicate blood vessels. The figure on the right shows a reduction in tumors when SRPK1 is suppressed.

The inhibitor for SRPK1 was developed by Biotech company Exonate as a drug treatment for diseases that display abnormal vessel development, like macular degeneration (which causes blindness). When the scientists injected mice with the drug, the tumor growth was inhibited because vasculature growth was stopped. Because this drug targets vasculature growth, it can likely be used to treat other types of cancer that spread with similar mechanisms.

This new discovery is incredibly promising, not only for the treatment of prostate cancer, but many other deadly diseases. Whether or not it is a result of fundraising from Movember, the awareness that Movember and No Shave November have created for men’s health is a positive. So please gentlemen, keep growing those mustaches and checking your health!

Cheers to your brain and thanks for reading!

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P.S. if you want to know about the science of beards, the guys at ASAPScience made this awesome video: