Blood test to detect resistance to hormone therapy in advanced prostate cancer
Official title: Novel ctDNA biomarker for androgen therapy in metastatic prostate cancer
Funded at Washington University · NIH-11231709 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests a new blood-based DNA test to spot early resistance to androgen (hormone) therapies in men with advanced prostate cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project start | December 6, 2023 |
| Project end | November 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $602,200 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA286127-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11231709 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who are starting or already receiving AR-directed therapies (for example, abiraterone or enzalutamide) are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who do not have advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, who are not treated with AR-directed therapies, or whose tumors shed too little DNA into blood are unlikely to benefit from this test.
What this research studies
You would give blood samples so researchers can look at tumor DNA floating in the plasma using a sensitive sequencing method called EnhanceAR-Seq built on CAPP-Seq. The test looks for changes in the androgen receptor gene and its nearby enhancer regions that signal resistance to drugs like abiraterone or enzalutamide. The team will study samples taken before treatment and while on treatment to see if the test can predict who will stop responding. They will compare results to existing blood-based markers such as circulating tumor cell AR-V7.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could let doctors detect hormone-therapy resistance earlier and switch treatments sooner, possibly improving outcomes and avoiding ineffective drugs.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier work showed EnhanceAR-Seq can detect AR gene and enhancer alterations in patient plasma and correlated strongly with clinical resistance and outperformed CTC AR-V7, but using it prospectively to predict resistance is a new application.
Where this research is happening
-
Washington University
Saint Louis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Maher, Christopher a — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Maher, Christopher a
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.