Piwen Wang, MD, PhD, MS

Assistant Professor
Division of Cancer Research and Training
Department of Internal Medicine
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

Project Title: Sensitization of castration-resistant prostate tumors to docetaxel treatment by green tea and quercetin

Mentors:
Jaydutt Vadgama, PhD - Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Susanne Henning, PhD, RD – UCLA
David Heber, MD, PhD - UCLA

Multidisciplinary Expertise:
Translational nutrition and cancer research, Oncology, Toxicology, Biostatistics

Project description:  
Chemotherapy with docetaxel (Doc), a cell division inhibitor, is a standard treatment for metastatic and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).  However, acquired resistance to Doc develops early in most patients. My project is designed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of Doc resistance and to determine whether natural products green tea (GT) and quercetin (Q) will reverse the chemoresistance and enhance the efficacy of Doc. Both GT and Q selectively inhibit cell proliferation, induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in prostate cancer cells without affecting normal cells. Combined treatment with GT and Q enhanced the antiproliferative effect of Doc 5-fold in cultured castration-resistant prostate cancer cells, associated with increased apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and decreased multidrug resistance protein expression. The proposed mouse study will test the combined effect in vivo. This project will set the stage for future clinical trials to enhance drug efficacy at lower doses and reduce side effects.