A new type of therapy may help prostate cancer that is resistant to treatment. This therapy disrupts the cancer’s metabolism, allowing a substance that kills the cancer cells to enter. Significant results from the drug have been observed, with data pointing to a reduction in prostate tumors. The most common method of treating any type of cancer is chemotherapy. In some cases, in combination with other types of therapy, chemotherapy allows the destruction of cancer cells with the help of chemical substances specially designed to fight tumors. Sometimes chemotherapy is the only treatment for cancer, and sometimes it is only used as an adjunctive treatment to shrink the tumor before surgery or radiation therapy. One of the strongest chemicals used in chemotherapy is called cisplatin. It destroys all types of cells that go through the process of division faster than others. Cancer cells also fall into this category, so cisplatin is used to treat many types of cancer, including testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, and cervical cancer. The chemical agent in the drug is so powerful that it can alter the structure of DNA in cells to destroy them. Despite cisplatin’s cancer-fighting power, the chemical can’t reach one particular type of cancer�prostate cancer. Cisplatin has no effect on this cancer and the reason for this is not yet known. However, scientists at the University of Miami hypothesized that prostate cancer may develop in such a way that cells use fatty acid oxidation to multiply and divide. Most cancer cells in all types of cancer use glycolysis�a process in which the body’s glucose is converted into energy�to obtain enough energy to support tumor growth. Switching the energy source from glucose to fatty acids in prostate cancer is the process scientists have used to develop a suitable treatment for this type of cancer. The treatment is encapsulated in nanoparticles made of biocompatible polymers. In prostate cancer resistant to cisplatin, this treatment has allowed the chemical to be used to treat despite resistance. The way the treatment works is based on the use of nanoparticles through which cisplatin molecules can bind to the fatty acids that cancer cells use for energy. These particles function as mines that can destroy cancer cells. The results indicate a 50% reduction in the multiplication of cancer cells with this type of treatment. Another advantage of this treatment is that because of its mechanism that affects fatty acids, it can be used not only in prostate cancer, but also in other types of cancer that are resistant to chemotherapy and specifically to cisplatin. References: 1. Ramsey, L. (2023,July 12) Researchers develop first therapy of its kind to treat cisplatin-resistant prostate cancer. Retrieved 2023, July 13 from https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230712/Researchers-develop-first-therapy-of-its-kind-to-treat-cisplatin-resistant-prostate-cancer.aspx 2 Dhar, S. (2023, July 12) New Pathway for Cisplatin Prodrug to Utilize Metabolic Substrate Preference to Overcome Cancer Intrinsic Resistance. Retrieved 2023, July 13 from https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.3c00286