Growth factor and signaling pathways and their relevance to prostate cancer therapeutics

Jocelyn L Wozney1, Emmanuel S Antonarakis

  • 1Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Cancer Metastasis Reviews
|January 10, 2014
PubMed

Insights

New targeted therapies targeting growth factor and signaling pathways show promise for advanced prostate cancer, offering new hope beyond androgen axis treatments for this incurable disease.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Androgen axis treatments are effective for advanced prostate cancer but do not cure the disease.
  • Understanding of growth factor and signaling pathways in prostate cancer has advanced significantly.
  • New targeted therapies are emerging for castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To summarize the biological rationale for selected targeted agents in prostate cancer.
  • To review clinical trial results of these targeted agents in men with prostate cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Review of preclinical data supporting targeted therapies.
  • Analysis of clinical trial outcomes for targeted agents in prostate cancer.

Main Results:

  • Several key pathways are being targeted, including HGF/c-Met, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Hedgehog, endothelin, Src kinase, IGF, and angiogenesis.
  • Targeted therapies are entering clinical development for castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Conclusions:

  • Targeted therapies offer a promising new therapeutic approach for advanced prostate cancer.
  • Further clinical development and trials are ongoing for these novel agents.

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