Molecular mechanisms of apoptosis in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed noncutaneous cancer in men in Western countries. As in the normal prostate, the initial stages of prostate cancer progression depend on androgens that increase proliferation and inhibit apoptosis. Androgen-deprivation therapy is the major course of treatment in recurrent and metastatic prostate cancer. However, in most cases prostate cancer progresses to an apoptosis-resistant androgen-independent stage for which there is no available therapy. It is therefore important to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying prostate cancer progression, and how prostate cancer cells evade apoptotic mechanisms that give rise to their uncontrolled growth behavior. Here, we have reviewed the most important signaling pathways implicated in prostate cancer apoptosis and cell growth and how they may be deregulated during prostate cancer progression.