# Testing ATAD2 as a new therapeutic target for advanced prostate cancer

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2024 · $562,551

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of male cancer death. Advanced prostate cancer, whether present
at the time of diagnosis or arising after treatment of localized disease, responds to androgen deprivation, but
invariably fails and recurs as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) which is the main cause of prostate
cancer-associated mortality. Heavily treated tumors, particularly those treated with secondary hormone
therapies, frequently acquire a neuroendocrine phenotype (NEPC), which currently accounts for 15-20% of
CRPC. NEPC is commonly characterized by expression of neuroendocrine markers, an aggressive clinical
course, and downregulation or loss of androgen receptor (AR) that diminishes responsiveness to androgen
deprivation therapies, making it the most lethal and currently incurable subset of prostate cancer. Thus, there is
an urgent unmet need to define new therapeutic strategies for adeno-CRPC and NEPC.
Our recent studies identified ATAD2 as an up-regulated druggable protein in treatment-induced NEPC.
Moreover, we demonstrated that ATAD2 inhibitors dramatically suppress NEPC cell and tumor growth. The goals
of the study are to test the therapeutic potential of ATAD2 inhibitor alone or in combination therapy settings in
pre-clinical models of adeno-CRPC and NEPC and define new mechanisms through which ATAD2 regulates
prostate tumorigenesis. The goal of this proposal is based on strong preliminary results. We propose to use cell
line models of adeno-CRPC and NEPC as well as patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) of adeno-CRPC and NEPC
to test the proposed combination therapies in pre-clinical settings.
The aims of the proposed project are:
Specific Aim 1. Test the levels of ATAD2 in a large cohort of clinical specimens.
Specific Aim 2. Investigate the functional role of ATAD2 in advanced prostate cancer and define the
molecular mechanisms through which ATAD2 contributes to prostate tumorigenesis and NEPC.
Specific Aim 3. Test the therapeutic potential of ATAD2 inhibitors alone and in combination with
therapies used as a standard of care for prostate cancer in adeno-CRPC and NEPC growth and
metastasis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10902612
- **Project number:** 1R01CA287669-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Tanya I Stoyanova
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $562,551
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10902612

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10902612, Testing ATAD2 as a new therapeutic target for advanced prostate cancer (1R01CA287669-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10902612. Licensed CC0.

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