A 2011 a Pelotonia idea grant helped OSUCCC – James researcher Qianben Wang, PhD, associate professor of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics and member of the Molecular Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program, lead research about a key receptor for testosterone, a hormone that drives prostate cancer development and progression. This key receptor is called the androgen receptor (AR). Wang found that when testosterone activates this receptor, it causes the receptor to activate a particular set of genes. Now in 2015, Wang and his colleagues have published a study that shows a surprising correlation between the AR receptor and certain drugs used to treat prostate cancer. When the AR receptor binds with these drugs, it activates a completely different set of genes, including some that promote cancer. Although initially responsive to antiandrogen drugs (including bicalutamide and enzalutamide), prostate cancer ultimately progresses to a lethal, treatment-resistant state, that is currently incurable. “Our findings suggest that when antiandrogen drugs are used to treat prostate cancer, the treatment should also include agents that inhibit the cancer-causing genes activated by the antiandrogen drugs,” Wang says. Wang and first author Zhong Chen, a research scientist at the OSUCCC – James, developed most of the study’s scientific concepts. The findings provide new insights into AR biology and suggest a novel strategy for treating prostate cancer, which is the most common cancer in men.