Prostate Cancer Research

UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology
Prostate Cancer Research Program

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is consistently highly ranked in the U.S. in research dollars and research funding from the NIH. The UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology has one of the largest and most diverse urologic oncology research programs in the nation.

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The UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology (IUO) is committed to ongoing prostate cancer research in a quest to develop new treatments and cures for all prostate cancer patients, along with a commitment to educate and train the next generation of leading physician-scientists. The UCLA IUO is conducting pioneering basic (bench) research, cutting-edge translational research (bench to bedside) and offering newly-designed clinical trials for prostate cancer.

Significant Prostate Cancer Research Achievements at UCLA:

A campus-wide effort to focus on prostate cancer led by researchers working within The UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology, the UCLA SPORE in Prostate Cancer and a broad array of departments across the UCLA campus has led to significant research discoveries and achievements with potential major impact on men with prostate cancer. Examples of these discoveries and achievements include:

• The FDA approved Gallium 68 PSMA-11 (68Ga-PSMA-11) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of prostate cancer on December 1st, 2020.

• The development of the MDV3100 (enzalutamide) androgen receptor (AR) super-antagonist, approved by the FDA on August 31, 2012.
• The discovery of the putative human prostate cancer stem cell of origin.
• The translation of novel engineered antibodies targeting Prostate Stem Cell Antigen (PSCA) to the clinic to treat and image prostate cancer.
• The elucidation of cross-talk between the PTEN/PI3K and AR pathways in castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).
• The demonstration that a low fat diet supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids has measurable effects on prostate cancer and may be effective as primary or secondary prevention of prostate cancer.
• First study to show that a low fat fish oil dietary intervention reduced the proliferative index in cancer.
• First-in-human clinical trial of I124-A11 PET/CT in men with metastatic CRPC.
• Dennis J. Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the UCLA Division of Hematology/Oncology and whose research led to the development of the breast cancer drug Herceptin, leads a drug discovery and screening program aimed at the identification and testing of novel drugs and targets for kidney, bladder, and prostate cancers. 

The UCLA IUO will continue to apply the diversity of talent on the UCLA campus to the critical and evolving translational challenges in the field of prostate cancer.

Current Prostate Cancer Research Projects include:

• Translating N-cadherin targeted therapy in castration resistant prostate cancer. Investigation is ongoing for novel targets and therapies directed against these targets to combat advanced prostate cancer.
• PI3K and MAPK pathway inhibition therapies in metastatic cancer and CRPC. This study will investigate the molecular underpinnings of metastatic prostate cancer. The success of this proposed research will provide vital insight into and identify therapies for metastasis and castration resistance prostate cancer.
• Evaluating a novel strategy to target Trop2, a stem cell marker, in prostate cancer.
• Nutrition and Prostate Cancer: Low fat/fish oil diet and prostate cancer outcomes in human cohorts and mouse models.
• Radiogenomic analysis of prostate cancer to develop an individualized prediction model to distinguish aggressive from indolent tumors and to guide patient management.
• Investigating focal therapy for the treatment of localized prostate cancer.
• Modulating full-length and splice variant androgen receptor protein stability in castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

Faculty Laboratories - Prostate Cancer Research:

• Dr. Jeremie Calais
• Dr. Andrew Goldstein
• Dr. Amar Kishan
• Dr. Leonard Marks 
• Dr. Robert Reiter

Clinical Trials for Prostate Cancer Currently Open for Enrollment

Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials >