Investigating novel drugs to treat advanced prostate cancer

Dr Eric’s project is generously funded by Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival

He is based at Sir Peter MacCallum Dept of Oncology, The University of Melbourne.

Originally from Indonesia, Dr Eric Kusnadi is a Postdoctoral Researcher who undertook a Diploma in Biotechnology in Singapore before relocating to Australia in 2011. He completed his PhD in blood cancer cell biology in 2018.

Dr Eric is particularly interested in castration-resistant prostate cancer – cancer that doesn’t or no longer responds to frontline therapies. For many patients, this disease is lethal, and the limited treatment options are relatively ineffective. His current project focuses on testing a new drug that targets a biological process that is disproportionately utilised by prostate cancer. If successful, the discoveries from the project could open up new therapeutic options that are urgently needed for patients with advanced cancer.

Dr Eric Kusnadi's research

Each year in Australia, there are close to 18,000 diagnoses of prostate cancer, and around 3,000 deaths as a result of prostate cancer. Standard treatments include surgery, radiation and testosterone-deprivation therapies. Unfortunately, many patients still develop advanced cancers that spread around the body.

Dr Eric and his team have developed a new drug that they hope will combat this frequently lethal disease. This drug interferes with a mechanism that is excessively used by prostate cancer, and has shown promising results in preclinical trials. However, not all cancers are created equal, and while some cancers will respond very well to this treatment, others will not. A key part of precision and personalised medicine is to ensure that therapy given to patients has the highest chance of success. The key aim of this Cure Cancer-funded project is to perform additional analysis on collected patient samples to try to better understand which patients are most likely to respond to this potential new treatment. This is an essential foundational element for the upcoming Phase II/III trials where the drug will be tested in humans.

“So far, our preclinical data shows that our drug has significant potential as a new therapy for advanced prostate cancer. This Cure Cancer project will undertake critical studies to identify characteristics (or biomarkers) in patients associated with strong response to our drug. Most importantly, it will help us in selecting patients who have a higher likelihood of responding, which may help those who aren't as responsive to seek other treatments that are better suited for them,” Dr Eric says.

The importance of cancer research funding

”As an emerging researcher myself, I’m very aware that networking opportunities and the pace of research have unfortunately been impacted by the COVID pandemic. This prestigious Cure Cancer funding will certainly accelerate the clinical progression of the novel compound developed by our team. Moreover, this funding will enhance my competitiveness to apply for further grants in the future, thus paving the way for the establishment of my own research group in the next 4-5 years.”

“My research has allowed me to interact with a broad group of people affected by prostate cancer. I learn a great deal from listening to their past and current experiences. Discussing the issues they feel are important is incredibly useful to my work.”

Together, we can cure cancer.

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