2026-11-092026-11-09https://scholars.csmu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/38570Prostate cancer is an important male cancer that has caused many death cases in the Western World. In Asia, the numbers of prostate cancer cases have been increasing. In Taiwan, although incidence of prostate cancer is not as high as in the USA, its death rate is only less than bladder and kidney malignancies among all urological cancers. Prostate cancer at terminal stage is difficult to treat, mainly due to the androgen-independency of cancer cells. Nevertheless, how to prevent early stage benign growth from proceeding towards malignant terminal stages remains unknown. Hedgehog signaling has been implicated in advanced prostate cancer in recent years. By using a Hedgehog overexpression model in the mice, we further provide evidence showing that Hedgehog protein could initiate prostate from a normal status. In this project, we aim to further explore the dynamic colony changes of prostate epithelial cells, in an effort to examine whether cancer stem cell clones may exist under the effect of Hedgehog overexpression. Furthermore, we will advance our findings towards isolation and characterization of prostate cancer cell lines, to be used as a means for investigation into the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of prostate cancer stem cell, as well as to be used as evidence-based experimental therapies. The results of this project may extend our understanding of prostate cancer stem cells and may also change the general concepts in treating prostate cancer at terminal stages, with a hope that novel therapeutic strategies may be developed.前列腺癌為重要男性癌症，在西方國家每年導致大量死亡病例，在亞洲國家其罹 患比率也不斷攀升。在台灣前列腺癌的發生率雖不像美國那麼高，但也是年年不 斷地增加，在泌尿道癌症的死亡人數上，是僅次於膀胱癌和腎臟癌的癌症。末期 前列腺癌的治療相當棘手，最大原因是末期癌細胞已不再依賴雄性激素存活，至 於如何讓早期的良性腫脹避免進行到末期階段，目前尚無定論。近年來的研究顯 示Hedgehog高度表現是導致前列腺癌進行到末期階段的重要因素，我們之前以 Hedgehog高度表現小鼠模式進行分析，更進一步提供Hedgehog驅使前列腺由良性 進行到末期癌症階段的相關證據，並間接支持癌幹細胞之理論。本計畫目標在連 續之前小鼠模式之探討，分析Hedgehog高度表現之下，前列腺內細胞族群的變 化，並嘗試由Hedgehog高度表現小鼠模式分離癌幹細胞株，且加以定性分析，之 後再進一步分析癌前列腺幹細胞發生之分子機轉，或是根據其特性進行阻斷雄性 激素之外的實驗性治療。預期本計畫的實驗成果將提供癌幹細胞理論在前列腺癌 上之證據，因而改變臨床治療上的基本概念，也可能開發新的治療方法。前列腺癌Hedgehog蛋白癌幹細胞實驗性治療prostate cancerHedgehog proteincancer stem cellsexperimentaltherapiesProject