Scientists Identify SIRT1 as a Driver of Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer

Researchers have identified SIRT1 as a promising new target in neuroendocrine prostate cancer, a rare but highly aggressive subtype that often develops after standard hormone therapy stops working. The finding is important because this form of prostate cancer is especially hard to treat and tends to behave more aggressively than typical androgen-driven disease.

The study behind the article used preclinical models to show that SIRT1 appears to play an active role in driving this transformation. When SIRT1 activity was increased, prostate cancer cells were more likely to adopt neuroendocrine characteristics. When SIRT1 was inhibited, tumor growth slowed and the neuroendocrine features were reduced. That suggests SIRT1 may be more than just a marker of disease progression, it may actually help push the cancer into a more dangerous state.

Selisistat, a compound that blocks SIRT1, showed activity in the models and may help reverse the neuroendocrine phenotype. If that holds up in further research, it could give scientists a repurposing path instead of having to develop a completely new agent from scratch.

That said, this is still early-stage research. The findings come from cell and mouse studies, so they do not prove the approach will work in patients.

Source.