Biochemical profiles and hormone receptors in prostate cancer

Abstract

Many attempts have been undertaken to develop a method to predict the responsiveness of prostate cancer to androgen ablation therapy. Even in the presence of highly sophisticated methods, however, the pretreatment level of serum testosterone presently seems to be the most significant parameter available to distinguish between poor and good responders. Neither tissue androgen levels nor androgen receptor content nor enzymatic indices bases on multiple biochemical variables are as indicative as the serum testosterone level. Much hope has been placed on determination of the subcellular distribution or the immunocytochemical localization of androgen receptors. All available data indicate that there must be other pathways that explain the differences between hormone-sensitive and hormone-insensitive cancer cells. Comprehension of these phenomena will fundamentally increase our knowledge and understanding of the biology of prostate cancer.