We have recently developed the first genetic mouse model for therapy and analysis of metastatic prostate cancer. Now we can test if and how modern concepts of cancer evolution can outperform the 80-year-old standard of care - hormone deprivation therapy - and turn lethal prostate cancer into a curable disease.
Lloyd Trotman’s recent research path begins at his discovery some years ago that the loss of a single copy of a master tumor suppressing gene called PTEN is sufficient to permit tumors to develop in animal models of prostate cancer. His team later found that complete loss of PTEN paradoxically triggers senescence, an arrested state that delays or blocks cancer development in affected cells. These findings explained why many patients only display partial loss of this tumor suppressor when diagnosed with prostate cancer. Now the team is researching ways to restore the PTEN protein levels in these patients. This therapeutic approach could slow disease progression and thus greatly reduce the need for surgical removal of the prostate or similar drastic interventions that carry the risks of incontinence and impotence. Their second approach to combat prostate cancer is to model the lethal metastatic disease in genetically engineered mice. They are developing a novel approach that allows for quick generation and visualization of metastatic disease. The efficacy of existing and novel late-stage therapies, such as antihormonal therapy, can then be tested and optimized in these animals. At the same time, the Trotman lab is exploring the genome alterations associated with metastatic disease and with resistance to therapy. To this end, they use single- and multicell genome sequencing techniques developed at CSHL by Drs. Wigler and Hicks.
Enzyme PHLPP2 could be a viable drug target for treating prostate cancer
May 15, 2019
Researchers have identified an enzyme called Phlpp2 as an attractive drug target for treating prostate cancer.
One experiment: Observing cancer’s progress in a mouse prostate
March 14, 2019
Using a technique originally designed for mapping brains, two CSHL labs have worked together to image cancer progression in a mouse prostate.
Study reveals a way to make prostate cancer cells run out of energy and die
April 3, 2018
In lethal prostate cancer, the gene PTEN is often missing. In such cases, one effective treatment may be to administer drugs that inhibit mitochondria
Researchers identify “Achilles’ heel” of PTEN that helps drive prostate cancer progression
February 13, 2017
Researchers at CSHL have discovered that a protein called Importin-11 protects the anti-cancer protein PTEN from destruction by transporting it.
No (real) moustache required to join the “Movember” party
November 15, 2016
Members of Trotman don fake moustaches in order to raise money for prostate cancer research during Movember.
Movember: Fighting for health in the Lab and the gym
November 20, 2015
Dawid Nowak discusses the difficulties and challenges involved in understanding pancreatic cancer.
Third-year student Abram Handly Santana explores the pancreatic tumor microenvironment
August 1, 2015
Abram Handly Santana wants to understand how the tumor microenvironment contributes to pancreas cancer.
An immune system marker for therapy-resistant prostate cancer
June 4, 2015
Research shows how signaling by an immune system component appears to play an important role in driving particularly aggressive prostate cancer
Pershing Square Foundation establishes $10 million endowment to support CSHL life science research
June 1, 2015
The uniquely structured grant reflects a commitment by The Pershing Square Foundation to support exceptional leadership and innovative organizations.
Study revises standard theory of how PTEN, a critical tumor suppressor, shuts off growth signals
April 9, 2015
Scientists discover new evidence explaining precisely how the protein encoded by PTEN (called PTEN) works
Cho, H. and Herzka, T. and Zheng, W. and Qi, J. and Wilkinson, J. E. and Bradner, J. E. and Robinson, B. D. and Castillo-Martin, M. and Cordon-Cardo, C. and Trotman, L. C. (2014) RapidCaP, a novel GEM model for analysis and therapy of metastatic prostate cancer, reveals Myc as a driver of Pten-mutant metastasis. Cancer Discovery, 4(3) pp. 318-33.
Labbé, D. P. and Nowak, D. G. and Deblois, G. and Lessard, L. and Giguère, V. and Trotman, L. C. and Tremblay, M. L. (2014) Prostate cancer genetic-susceptibility locus on chromosome 20q13 is amplified and coupled to androgen receptor-regulation in metastatic tumors. Molecular Cancer Research, 12(2) pp. 184-189.
Naguib, A. and Trotman, L. C. (2013) PTEN plasticity: how the taming of a lethal gene can go too far. Trends In Cell Biology, 23(8) pp. 374-379.
Additional materials of the author atCSHL Institutional Repository