Cancer researchers at Purdue aim to take the ‘accelerator’ off aggressive prostate and other deadly tumors

October 4, 2018

Purdue University associate professor Marxa Figueiredo, right, worked with students to develop a drug to help cancer patients.

Purdue University researchers are studying ways to make prostate cancer, ranked as the second most common and second most fatal cancer among men by the American Cancer Society, less lethal by making it less aggressive.

The Purdue team has developed a drug to target the laminin receptor (37/67 LR), a membrane protein that when overexpressed can promote the growth of cancer cells and tumors. The researchers say it also could help fight other types of aggressive cancers, including pancreatic, colon, liver and breast.

“We are trying to take cancer’s foot off the accelerator by targeting this receptor,” said Marxa Figueiredo, a Purdue associate professor of Basic Medical Sciences, who helped lead the research team.

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