Investigating new therapeutic targets for advanced prostate cancer

Full project title: Investigating new therapeutic targets for advanced prostate cancer

Duration: Ongoing

Project lead for CBR: Dr Daniel Turnham

Funders:

• Wallscourt Foundation
• Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Award
• Rosetrees Trust
• UWE Bristol Vice-Chancellor's Early Career Researcher Award  

Prostate cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, claiming the lives of thousands of men each year. Disease progression and therapeutic resistance represent major clinical challenges, highlighting the need for new treatment strategies. 

My lab investigates the molecular mechanisms that drive prostate cancer progression and resistance, using this knowledge to develop and test novel therapeutic approaches aimed at selectively eliminating cancer cells and preventing disease progression. Current work focuses on three main areas:

1. Identifying and validating new targets, including RAGE and transcriptional regulators.
2. Developing targeted therapies such as antibody-drug conjugates and small-molecule inhibitors.
3. Establishing clinically relevant models, including patient-derived organoids and CAM assays, to better capture tumour heterogeneity.

Together, these approaches aim to accelerate the translation of laboratory discoveries into effective treatments. 

• Turnham, D. J., French, R., Frame, F. M., Meniel, V. S., Maitland, N. J., & Clarkson, R. W. E. (2026). Inhibition of c-FLIP alongside TRAIL treatment suppresses prostate cancer stem cell activity. British Journal of Cancer, 134, 1300–1310.
• Turnham, D. J., Mullen, M. S., Bullock, N. P., Gilroy, K. L., Richards, A. E., Patel, R., Quintela, M., Meniel, V. S., Seaton, G., Kynaston, H., Clarkson, R. W. E., Phesse, T. J., Nelson, P. S., Haffner, M. C., Staffurth, J. N., & Pearson, H. B. (2024). Development and characterisation of a new patient-derived xenograft model of AR-negative metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Cells, 13(8), 673. 
• Soukupová, J., Bordoni, C., Turnham, D. J., Yang, W. W., Seaton, G., Gruca, A., French, R., Lee, K. Y., Varnava, A., Piggott, L., Clarkson, R. W. E., Westwell, A. D., & Brancale, A. (2021). The discovery of a novel antimetastatic Bcl3 inhibitor. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 20(5), 775-786. 

For further information about the project, please contact Dr Daniel Turnham (daniel.turnham@uwe.ac.uk).