[Targeted therapies for hormone-refractory prostate cancer]

Prostate cancer is one of the most common type of cancer among men after middle age. Androgen withdrawal can delay its progression in the initial stage, but it finally becomes independent of androgens in almost all the cases. The combination of docetaxel with prednisone is currently a standard first-line treatment for patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), but hitherto there is no established second-line therapy. In view of the molecular pathogenesis of HRPC, this article presents an overview on several promising drugs that target specific pathways, involving angiogenesis, cell signaling, apoptosis and proliferation, and immune modulation, either as single agents or in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy.