The development of resistance to anti-cancer therapies in bones is a major hurdle preventing long-lasting clinical responses to anti-cancer therapies in hormone refractory prostate cancer. Herein, we present the major signal transduction pathways, which are activated in prostate cancer cells residing at bone metastasis microenvironment. These intracellular signal transduction pathways can inhib...

There is increasing evidence that prostate cancers in rodent models and in men contain a cellular subpopulation that displays stem cell properties. These prostate cancer stem cells (PCSCs) lack androgen receptor expression and are increased in castration-resistant disease. In this issue of the JCI, a study from Yoshioka et al. demonstrates that PCSCs are regulated by a pathway in which α6β4 int...

The serine/threonine family of Pim kinases function as oncogenes and have been implicated in prostate cancer progression, particularly in hormone-refractory prostate disease, as a result of their antiapoptotic function. In this study, we used a pharmacologic inhibitor targeting the Pim family members, SGI-1776, to determine whether modulation of Pim kinase activity could alter prostate cancer c...

Hormone-refractory relapse is an inevitable and lethal event for advanced prostate cancer patients after hormone deprivation. A growing body of evidence indicates that hormone deprivation may promote this aggressive prostate cancer phenotype. Notably, androgen receptor (AR) not only mediates the effect of androgen on the tumor initiation but also plays the major role in the relapse transition. ...

BACKGROUND The alpha-emitter radium-223 ((223)Ra) is a bone-seeking radionuclide studied as a new treatment for patients with bone metastases from hormone-refractory prostate cancer. We aimed to study mature outcomes from a randomised, multicentre, phase II study of (223)Ra. METHODS Patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer and bone pain needing external-beam radiotherapy were assigned...

BACKGROUND Both the demographics and treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) are changing. Patients are younger and healthier, with fewer comorbidities. The "no treatment until symptoms" approach is disappearing. Chemotherapy is increasingly being utilized. METHODS The authors review the steps involved in hormone management before chemotherapy is considered. The roles for chemo...

PURPOSE It has been recognized for almost a decade that concentrations of signaling androgens sufficient to activate the androgen receptor are present in castration-resistant prostate cancer tissue. The source of these androgens is highly controversial, with three competing models proposed. We, therefore, wished to determine the androgenic potential of human benign and malignant (hormone-naïve ...