FOXA1 mutations in hormone-dependent cancers

FOXA1 mutations in hormone-dependent cancers

The forkhead protein, FOXA1, is a critical interacting partner of the nuclear hormone receptors, oestrogen receptor-α (ER) and androgen receptor (AR), which are major drivers of the two most common cancers, namely breast and prostate cancer. Over the past few years, progress has been made in our understanding of how FOXA1 influences nuclear receptor function, with both common and distinct roles...

Role of steroid receptor and coregulator mutations in hormone-dependent cancers.

Steroid hormones mediate critical lineage-specific developmental and physiologic responses. They function by binding their cognate receptors, which are transcription factors that drive specific gene expression programs. The requirement of most prostate cancers for androgen and most breast cancers for estrogen has led to the development of endocrine therapies that block the action of these hormo...

Oestrogens, Xenoestrogens and Hormone-Dependent Cancers

Cancers beget mutations versus mutations beget cancers.

Despite the plethora of "oncogenes" and "tumor suppressor genes," the hypothesis that cancer is usually the result of genomic mutations may be wrong. We should at least examine the alternative hypothesis, for which there is considerable evidence, that mutations do not commonly beget cancer, but rather that cancer phenotypes result from confused or aberrant patterns of normal-gene expression; th...

The Endocannabinoid System and Sex Steroid Hormone-Dependent Cancers

The "endocannabinoid system (ECS)" comprises the endocannabinoids, the enzymes that regulate their synthesis and degradation, the prototypical cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2), some noncannabinoid receptors, and an, as yet, uncharacterised transport system. Recent evidence suggests that both cannabinoid receptors are present in sex steroid hormone-dependent cancer tissues and potentially pla...