Research interests

Prostate cancer (CaP) is a major health problem for the Western male population. Age, heredity and ethnicity are factors of importance in the development of CaP. With rapidly changing demographics due to increasing longevity and productivity, CaP is putting the health services under increasing strain. It is therefore important to find ways to reduce the incidence. Chemoprevention could reduce the incidence or change the course of established disease. Epidemiological studies indicate an association between decreased CaP risk and increased soy consumption. In some Asian countries where the inhabitants have high soy consumption, the incidence and mortality of CaP is reported to be about 1/8 of that in Western countries.

“Soy isoflavone Genistein, a chemopreventive factor in prostate cancer?”

One third of the men with prostate cancer are offered curative treatment (prostatectomy or radiation) at time of diagnosis. Although prostatectomy decreases both overall and prostate cancer specific mortality, still 20–40% of these patients experience disease recurrence as distal metastasis. In order to identify men at high risk of developing a clinically significant disease, new biomarkers are needed. By combining results obtained by analysing molecular markers in clinical specimens with corresponding clinical information, we aim to detect prognostic biomarkers in prostate cancer.

“The Prostate Biobank – a resource for urological research in Norway”

The majority of men that suffer from relapse following initial treatment, will then undergo androgen ablation therapy. Unfortunately, most patients will later suffer from tumor progression to castration resistant prostate cancer (CRCP) and metastatic disease for which there is no curative treatment available. Development of CRCP is a highly dynamic process involving selection of tumor-initiating cells and abnormal differentiation. Androgen sensitive prostate cancer cells (LNCaP) trans-differentiate to neuroendocrine-like cells in androgen depleted medium, by increasing the intracellular level of cAMP or by adding IL6 or IFNγ. These cells are growth arrested, but progress further to a castration resistant proliferative phenotype. We have identified 400 genes significantly regulated during this process and are currently investigating two of these in more detail, ADRB2 and PBX. Furthermore, we have identified TWIST, a metastatic marker, as androgen regulated in prostate cancer

• “Development of hormone refractory prostate cancer: Role of β2-adrenergic receptor”
• ” The homeobox transcription factor PBX – a putative prognostic marker and drug target of prostate cancer”
• “TWIST, a novel androgen regulated gene is target for Nkx3.1 in prostate cancer cells”
• “The role of cAMP in neuroendocrine differentiation of prostate cancer cells”