Steroid hormones and cancer: IV. Prostate cancer

Over many years, a great deal of attention has focused on the growth regulatory effects of androgens in prostate cells. This, has also prompted widespread interest in the role of these steroid hormones in prostate cancer pathogenesis. Even so, no-one has so far been able to identify the exact relationship between androgenic hormone levels and the risk of these diseases though differences in hormonal patterns amongst racial ethnic groups has been reported to reflect diversities in prostate cancer incidence. One of the difficulties stems from the fact that serum hormone levels do not reflect the changes observed in prostate tissue androgen concentrations as the normal prostate progresses to a disease state. In this article efforts will be directed towards understanding some of the intra-prostate-specific mechanisms responsible for activating and/or repressing the androgen-dependent gene network associated with the gradual transition to a hormone refractive neoplastic state.