WSU College of Pharmacy Discovers Possible Fight Against Prostate Cancer

The everlasting fight against cancer has seen progress for many years and will continue to do so.

Researchers in the WSU College of Pharmacy on the WSU Spokane campus are doing their part and have discovered a possible fight against prostate cancer.

Kathryn Meier (pictured below), a professor in the College of Pharmacy, and two students – Ze Liu and Mandi Hopkins – discovered that omega-3 fatty acids bind to a receptor called FFA4 (“free fatty acid receptor 4”) and stifle the growth of prostate cancer cells.

Omega-3s can be found in some fish, seeds and nuts.

“This kind of knowledge could lead us to better treat or prevent cancer because now we know how it works,” Meier told Eric Sorensen, WSU’s science writer.

Meier’s study also found a drug that could mimic omega-3s. That drug will need more testing to see how much should be taken.

This is a great step in the fight against prostate cancer and it is all happening at WSU Spokane.