Exploring new drug combinations for advanced prostate cancer treatment
Official title: Synthetic lethal metabolic drug combinations for castration-resistant prostate cancer
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-10846603 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at a new treatment called Bipolar Androgen Therapy (BAT) for men with castration-resistant prostate cancer, aiming to find ways to make this therapy work better by targeting how hormones affect cancer metabolism, so participants might get access to cutting-edge options that aren't widely available yet.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Career grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $219,240 |
| NIH project number | 5K08CA273167-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-10846603 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are men diagnosed with castration-resistant prostate cancer who have not responded well to standard therapies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with early-stage prostate cancer or those who have not yet undergone androgen deprivation therapy may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates how certain metabolic programs influenced by hormones can be targeted to treat castration-resistant prostate cancer. The approach involves using a novel therapy called Bipolar Androgen Therapy (BAT), which administers high doses of androgens intermittently to prevent the cancer from adapting and becoming resistant. The study aims to identify specific metabolic vulnerabilities that can be exploited to enhance the effectiveness of this therapy. Patients participating in this research may have the opportunity to receive innovative treatment options that are currently not widely available.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could provide new therapeutic options for patients with advanced prostate cancer who have limited treatment choices.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown promising results with similar approaches, particularly in the use of Bipolar Androgen Therapy for prostate cancer.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sena, Laura a. — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Sena, Laura a.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding how aggressive cell states emerge in castration-resistant prostate cancer
A research project aims to uncover the hidden cell states that help prostate cancer resist standard therapy and how these states arise early in tumor development.
-
Enhancer RNA CYP11A1-eRNA in castration-resistant prostate cancer
Researchers are testing a new RNA-based target, CYP11A1-eRNA, to see if blocking it can hamper the growth of castration-resistant prostate cancer in the lab and animal models.
-
Targeted Immunostimulatory Dual Drug Conjugates for Heterogeneous Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Researchers are testing a targeted therapy approach to help people with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer by boosting the immune system and delivering drugs directly to cancer cells.
-
Androgen Receptor Action in Prostate Cancer that Stops Responding to Therapy
This grant supports research to understand why certain prostate cancers stop responding to AR-targeted therapies and to find new ways to target them.
-
Hyperactive methylation in a hard-to-treat prostate cancer subtype
Researchers are studying a newly identified methylation-heavy group of advanced prostate cancer to understand its biology and find clues for better treatments.
-
Therapeutic Targeting of Lineage Plasticity in Advanced Prostate Cancer
A cancer research effort aimed at understanding and tackling how aggressive prostate cancers become resistant to standard AR-targeted therapies.
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.