Researchers receive major award to investigate fat & prostate cancer link

Studies have shown that increased fat surrounding the prostate is linked to more aggressive prostate cancer and poorer treatment response.

Dr Claire Fletcher and Professor Charlotte Bevan, from the Department of Surgery and Cancer, have received a major award of £491,917 from the charity Prostate Cancer Research (PCR) to investigate the link between fat and prostate cancer. Dr Fletcher and Prof. Bevan aim to identify new drug targets and markers for aggressive disease and ultimately repurpose existing drugs to treat prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK and we currently understand remarkably little about how fat promotes it. Molecules released by the fat surrounding the prostate are different in obese men compared to healthy-weight men. ‘Mini-cells’ released by fat are also known to change the behaviour of prostate cells. These ‘mini-cells’ contain tiny pieces of genetic information which the researchers believe communicate growth signals to prostate cells.

Dr Fletcher and Prof. Bevan will explore how these ‘mini-cells’ change prostate cancer cell growth and spread. Speaking about their future work, they said: "Our PCR-funded research will investigate how prostate tumours communicate with the fat that surrounds the prostate, and how this may fuel more aggressive types of prostate cancer often seen in overweight men. We hope that, by identifying the molecules responsible for obesity-driven prostate cancer, we can target these to develop new treatments for the aggressive disease in general."

The pandemic has had a devastating effect on medical research, with the Association of Medical Research Charities calculating that £270m research funding has been cut since the pandemic started. Dr Fletcher's and Prof. Bevan’s funding from PCR is part of £1.4 million awarded by the charity to new research projects that could have a real impact on those living with advanced prostate cancer. The charity also enables 10 ongoing research projects, in institutions across the UK.

Speaking about the importance of this work, Dr Naomi Elster, Head of Research at PCR, said: "People with prostate cancer rarely have only one health condition to deal with, and as we know obesity is on the rise in the UK, it’s critical that we learn more about how having some extra fat, as so many of us do, might interact with an individual’s cancer. While efforts should continue to be made to tackle the obesity crisis in all its complexity, this work will enable us to provide better care to patients who need it – to treat the patient in front of us as they are, and not as we would like them to be."