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Researchers have targeted prostate cancer cells nutrient supply to halt tumor growth, in what could become a novel treatment target.

According to The Telegraph, researchers at University of Bristol and University of Nottingham learnt how inhibition of a molecule SRPK1 can halt tumor growth. SRPK 1 is known to play an important role in helping tumor cells form blood vessels for supply of nutrient rich blood to fuel the rapid cell proliferation. From analysis of human prostate cancer cells, the researchers learnt the SRPK 1 levels peek when tumors cells rapidly grow.

"We reasoned that inhibition of SRPK1 activity could stop cancer progression. Indeed, we show in this paper that if we decrease SRPK1 levels in prostate cancer cells, or in tumours grafted into mice, we are able to switch VEGF splicing and therefore inhibit tumour vasculature and growth," said Dr Sebastian Oltean, the study's co-author from the University of Bristol's School of Physiology and Pharmacology, in a press release.

Researchers then injected compounds that inhibit SRPK 1 into mice with prostate cancer tumors and halted tumor growth.

"Our results point to a novel way of treating prostate cancer patients and may have wider implications to be used in several types of cancers," said Professor David Bates, co-author from the University of Nottingham's Division of Cancer and Stem Cells.

Daily Mail reported that prostate cancer affects 40,000 men in UK every year. A drug development company Exonate is said to be working on offering SPRK 1 inhibitors for diseases with abnormal vessel development such age-related macular degeneration and cancer.

"There's no denying that there are too few treatment options for the 40,000 men that face a diagnosis of prostate cancer every year in the UK - especially for those with advanced disease. Prostate cancer continues to kill over 10,000 men annually and there is an urgent need for new treatments if we are to significantly reduce this figure," said Dr Matthew Hobbs, Deputy Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK.