Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide and remains a significant cause of cancer deaths.

In Austria alone, one in eight cancer deaths in men is due to this disease.

Despite progress in treatment, aggressive forms of prostate cancer are still challenging to treat effectively.

Now, a new study led by an international research team from MedUni Vienna has identified a promising approach that could not only slow down tumor growth but also engage the immune system to fight the cancer.

Published in Molecular Cancer, the study focuses on the GP130 signaling pathway, a process in cells that plays a crucial role in cell communication.

The GP130 pathway is associated with the activity of a protein called STAT3, which has been linked to cancer development and spread.

Traditionally, blocking the GP130 pathway was thought to help stop cancer, but the new research suggests the opposite -- activating GP130, rather than inhibiting it, could slow tumor growth in prostate cancer cells.

To explore this, researchers activated the GP130 pathway in the prostate cells of genetically modified mice.

"We observed a reduction in tumor growth directly in the cells," says study co-leader Lukas Kenner from MedUni Vienna.

This unexpected finding was further supported by analysis of tissue samples from prostate cancer patients, showing that patients with high levels of GP130 had better survival rates.

Additional tests, including gene expression profiling, confirmed that activating GP130 not only slowed the tumor's growth but also stimulated the immune system to target cancer cells.

According to Kenner, activating GP130 offers a two-fold benefit: it reduces tumor growth while encouraging the immune system to fight cancer more effectively. These findings could be especially beneficial for treating aggressive prostate cancers, which are often resistant to current treatments.

While these results are promising, further research is needed to confirm the effects of GP130 activation in prostate cancer treatment. Still, this study opens up a new pathway for therapies that could potentially improve survival rates, particularly for patients with aggressive tumors.

If future studies confirm these findings, activating GP130 could become a novel approach in prostate cancer treatment, providing new hope for patients facing difficult-to-treat forms of the disease.

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