A novel liver targeted therapy for sarcopaenia in androgen deprived men with prostate cancer
The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of a new treatment to prevent the loss of muscle mass during ADT. This treatment is called liver-targeted testosterone therapy. Sarcopaenia is a scientific term describing the loss of mass and function. Suppression, blockade or removal of testosterone is a cornerstone of management of prostate cancer. ADT is effective treatment that improves survival. Because ADT is often prescribed for extended times, patients suffer from sarcopaenia, as a consequence of the absence of testosterone. As the 10-year disease survival exceeds 90% for most men, healthy survivorship becomes an important consideration.
The ensuing sarcopaenia leads to loss of muscle strength and easy fatigue, affecting quality of life. Up to 2.5% of lean mass is lost within the first 6 to 12 months, continuing at a lower rate thereafter. The annualised loss of lean body mass is about 10 times that occurring with ageing. Thus sarcopaenia prevention during ADT remains a major treatment frontier for prostate cancer. We apply a new approach to revolutionise the treatment of sarcopaenia based on our discovery that the liver plays an important role in mediating the stimulatory effects of testosterone on muscle growth.
Investigators
| Prof Ken Ho | PAH, TRI |
