Overcoming drug resistance in advanced prostate cancer
Official title: Overcoming Drug Resistance of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Funded at University of Kentucky · NIH-11352531 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This NIH grant aims to find new ways to treat castration-resistant prostate cancer by targeting how EZH2 works and how Plk1 may influence it.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Kentucky NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lexington, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2011 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $289,422 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA157429-13 |
| Project ID | NIH-11352531 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are men with castration-resistant prostate cancer considering or receiving AR signaling inhibitors.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with cancers outside the prostate or those not affected by AR signaling pathways may not benefit.
What this research studies
Prostate cancer that no longer responds to standard hormone therapies is the focus. The project explores how a protein called EZH2 behaves differently in resistant cancer and whether Plk1 changes EZH2 to drive cancer growth. Researchers will look for druggable signals and potential biomarkers to improve the effectiveness of EZH2 inhibitors in this hard-to-treat group. The work involves laboratory studies on cellular and molecular pathways with the goal of guiding future therapies for patients with this type of cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could lead to new treatment options for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer who no longer respond to current therapies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown EZH2 as a promising target, but its role in CRPC is complex and may require combination approaches.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Kentucky
Lexington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Liu, Xiaoqi — University of Kentucky
- Study coordinator: Liu, Xiaoqi
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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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.