Since its inception, the Vancouver Prostate Centre’s research activities have led to valuable new insights, treatments, and intellectual property – bringing us ever closer to a cure.

• The clinical trial of OGX-011 is an inhibitor of clusterin, which is a protein that tumours produce to make themselves resistant to conventional treatment.  OGX-011 appears to significantly enhance the efficacy of current cancer treatments, resulting in delayed progression of the disease.
• A second translational research project which will harness antisense technology (which inhibits gene expression) to coax hormone-insensitive prostate-cancer cells to commit suicide, is a process called apoptosis, or programmed cell death.
• The discovery of a protein that appears to cause prostate cancer cells to grow rapidly, even in the presence of very low concentrations of the male hormone, androgen.  This may partly explain how androgen-independent tumours arise and may provide a target for new therapies.
• The development of a type of gene targeting device that, under laboratory conditions, is able to specifically target prostate cancer cells.  This exciting research may eventually lead to the development of a gene therapeutic that would seek and destroy only cancer cells.
• Research is ongoing on the role of androgens in promoting prostate tumor growth by enhancing response of prostate cells to growth-promoting hormones.  Other teams are studying cells which may cause prostate cancers to metastasize to bone.
• We are studying the psycho-social aspects of prostate disease.  Our innovative Patient Information Program (PIP) is being used to identify patients' communication and decision preferences at the time of prostate cancer diagnosis.  We’re currently working on making this a web-based research tool.
• Our research has shown that androgens play a key role in promoting prostate tumor growth by enhancing response of prostate cells to growth-promoting hormones.
• Our scientists have discovered that after prolonged hormone therapy, prostate tumors become enriched for cells with characteristics that are believed important for the ability to cause advanced prostate cancers to metastasize to bone.
• We discovered that a specific factor that appears in androgen independent prostate cancers enhances migration of immune cells.  We’re actively pursuing studies to clarify what effects this might have on tumor growth and progression.
• We were instrumental in establishing the use of Intermittent Androgen Ablation Therapy as a standard treatment modality for prostate cancer.