PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The review highlights recently discovered mechanisms that sustain castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) growth and describes advances in CRPC therapeutics.
RECENT FINDINGS: Recent reports have shed new light on the molecular processes underlying CRPC survival during androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). This study summarizes recent findings and comments on their clinical relevance. Included in this review is a discussion on molecular mechanisms that regulate androgen receptor (AR) signaling in normal prostate epithelium and CRPC, biologically significant differences in the androgen-regulated transcriptional programs of androgen-dependent prostate cancer and CRPC, and recent discoveries involving de-novo androgen production and transport. We review the status and results of current clinical trials and finally, discuss the implications of evidence suggesting a declining importance of AR signaling in prostate cancers with PTEN loss.
SUMMARY: Advances in the understanding of AR signaling in CRPC have identified novel drug targets and improved the rational design of targeted therapy, while illuminating a subset of prostate cancers that may progress to become completely independent of the AR signaling program.
Written by:
Bluemn EG, Nelson PS Are you the author?
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 91809, USA
Reference: Curr Opin Oncol. 2012 May;24(3):251-7
doi: 10.1097/CCO.0b013e32835105b3
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22327838