National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) researchers have found that stimulating activity of a certain gene might suppress the ability of prostate cancer to spread to the bones, a finding they said could lead to new medicines.
Chuu Chih-pin (褚志斌), an associate researcher at the NHRI’s Institute of Cellular and System Medicine, said in a statement on Friday that the team’s research focused on the role of the ROR2 gene, which is involved in the chemical signaling that regulates cellular activity.
Prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer among men globally and the sixth-most common cancer in Taiwan, Chuu said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
Many cases are detected early, but for cancers that have already spread, the only treatment available is hormone therapy, which in 95 percent of cases fails to prevent a recurrence within one to three years, he said.
The NHRI team used in vitro and mouse-based experiments to study how prostate cancer spreads in bone marrow, which, along with the lymph nodes, is one of the most common sites of metastasis, Chuu said.
The team first observed that ROR2 levels were significantly lower in metastatic tumors compared with the primary tumor in the prostate or in normal prostate tissue, he said.
In a follow-up experiment, the team artificially elevated levels of ROR2, and discovered that this suppressed the migration and invasion of several types of cancer cells, Chuu said.
Although there are no medicines on the market to stimulate ROR2 expression, earlier research by the team found that caffeic acid phenethyl ester, a compound found in cinnamon and honey, might help to activate it, he said.
However, the amount of caffeic acid phenethyl ester that can be absorbed from these foods is relatively low, meaning that supplements in pill form would likely be a better option, Chuu said.
The team’s study was published in Cell Death & Disease, a peer-reviewed online journal.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill to enhance cooperation with Taiwan on drone development and to reduce reliance on supply chains linked to China. The proposed Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026 was introduced by Republican US senators Ted Cruz and John Curtis, and Democratic US senators Jeff Merkley and Andy Kim. The legislation seeks to ease constraints on Taiwan-US cooperation in uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including dependence on China-sourced components, limited access to capital and regulatory barriers under US export controls, a news release issued by Cruz on Wednesday said. The bill would establish a "Blue UAS
The Republic of China Army Command yesterday relieved Kinmen Defense Battalion commander after authorities indicted the officer on charges connected to using methamphetamine. The Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday detained Colonel He (何) after the Coast Guard linked him to drug shipments and proceeded to charge him yesterday for using and possessing crystal meth. The man was released on a NT$50,000 bail and banned from leaving Kinmen, the office said. Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) told a news conference yesterday that He has been removed and another officer is taking over the unit as the acting commander. The military
RSS