The Rag1-/- mouse: Establishing links between obesity and prostate cancer

Obesity and metabolic syndrome are associated with increased risk of advanced prostate cancer, more aggressive high grade disease and increased risk of death from prostate cancer. Androgen targeted therapies can rapidly induce symptoms similar to metabolic syndrome in patients, affecting health and quality of life. The development of therapeutics which could target metabolic dysregulation in addition to cancer growth is urgently needed. This thesis established a new mouse model of metabolic syndrome and assessed components of the ghrelin axis as treatments of prostate cancer. Importantly, an association between the obesity hormone neurotensin, metabolic dysregulation, and androgen-independent prostate cancer was revealed