New developments in mechanisms of prostate cancer progression

Nicholas Howard1, Marco Clementino1, Donghern Kim1

  • 1Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology, United States.

Seminars in Cancer Biology
|September 15, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Prostate cancer therapy faces resistance due to complex mechanisms. Targeting pathways like autophagy and epigenetics offers new hope for treating advanced, lethal prostate cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men.
  • Androgen receptor (AR) targeted therapies are standard but face resistance in advanced disease.
  • Mechanisms of resistance include genetic alterations and AR splice variants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review emerging therapeutic targets for prostate cancer.
  • To explore mechanisms of resistance to current therapies.
  • To highlight the potential of combination therapies for lethal prostate cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on novel therapeutic targets.
  • Analysis of resistance mechanisms in prostate cancer progression.
  • Discussion of potential synergistic effects of combination therapies.

Main Results:

  • Identified key pathways involved in resistance: autophagy, p62, YAP, cancer stem cells, and epigenetics.
  • Highlighted the limitations of current single-target therapies.
  • Emphasized the potential for novel therapies to overcome resistance.

Conclusions:

  • Further investigation into novel targets like autophagy and epigenetics is crucial.
  • Combination therapies targeting multiple pathways may improve outcomes for resistant prostate cancer.
  • Understanding resistance mechanisms is key to developing more effective treatments.

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