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Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Generation of Prostate Cancer Cell Models of Resistance to the Anti-mitotic Agent Docetaxel
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Overcoming oncogene addiction in breast and prostate cancers: a comparative mechanistic overview

Eliot B Blatt1, Noa Kopplin1, Shourya Kumar1

  • 1Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Endocrine-Related Cancer
|December 2, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Prostate and breast cancers resist endocrine therapies through common and distinct mechanisms involving nuclear receptor signaling. This review compares resistance pathways and suggests new therapeutic strategies for advanced hormone-dependent cancers.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Endocrinology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Prostate cancer (PCa) and breast cancer (BCa) are hormone-dependent malignancies reliant on androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) signaling.
  • Endocrine therapies targeting these nuclear receptors (NRs) are clinically beneficial but often face resistance, limiting curative potential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare and contrast common resistance mechanisms to antiandrogen and antiestrogen therapies in advanced PCa and BCa.
  • To explore potential therapeutic strategies for overcoming endocrine therapy resistance in these hormone-dependent cancers.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on endocrine therapy resistance mechanisms in prostate and breast cancer.
  • Comparative analysis of NR signaling, coregulator alterations, and alternative transcriptional drivers in therapy-resistant tumors.

Main Results:

  • Common resistance mechanisms include enhanced NR signaling (overexpression, mutation, splicing) and increased hormone synthesis.
  • Tumors may switch to alternative NR or transcriptional drivers, leading to NR independence.
  • Distinct differences in resistance pathways exist between PCa and BCa.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding shared and unique resistance mechanisms is crucial for developing effective treatments.
  • Targeting augmented NR signaling and alternative drivers offers potential therapeutic avenues for resistant prostate and breast cancers.
Keywords:
androgen receptorendocrine therapy resistanceestrogen receptoroncogene

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