Submitted on December 22, 2025
An article in GU Oncology Now highlights how UCSF Department of Urology researchers in The Chu Lab have discovered new details about how prostate cancer cells control a protein called STEAP1, which is found at high levels on many prostate cancer cells. This study, presented at the 2025 Prostate Cancer Foundation Scientific Retreat, helps explain why STEAP1 is high in some patients but low in others and how it might be intentionally increased to make treatments work better. Their findings expand our knowledge of STEAP1 regulation and support the development of rational combination strategies to improve treatment response and overcome resistance in advanced prostate cancer.
“In our study, we identified small-molecule compounds capable of upregulating STEAP1 expression, which could in turn enhance the efficacy of STEAP1-targeted immunotherapies such as CAR T cells and bispecific T-cell engagers. These findings open the possibility for combination strategies to overcome primary or acquired resistance,” said first author Sha Zhu, MD, PhD, postdoctoral scholar in the Chu Lab.
“We also uncovered a previously understudied transcription factor in prostate cancer that appears to play a novel role in regulating STEAP1 that is independent of the androgen receptor.”