Below the Belt Award

In a very large diabetes clinical trial, it was observed that fewer people taking a diabetes drug called Liraglutide developed prostate cancer compared with those taking placebo. There is thus interest in testing Liraglutide as a treatment for prostate cancer. Liraglutide acts on cells through a chemical on the cell surface called a GLP1 receptor. Exendin PET scans are special nuclear medicine imaging scans which can detect cancers bearing GLP1 receptors on their cells. However, we are unaware of any reports of the use of Exendin PET scanning in prostate cancer. In this project, we will enrol men with known prostate cancer and they will have Exendin PET scans. We hope this will demonstrate that prostate cancers can be detected by Exendin PET scans. If we can demonstrate that, we will have confirmed that prostate cancers bear GLP1 receptors and will have thus fulfilled a precondition for the design of clinical trials to test whether Liraglutide, which works by acting on GLP1 receptors, can treat prostate cancer.