New molecular approaches for identifying novel targets, mechanisms, and biomarkers for prostate cancer chemopreventive agents.

Recently developed complementary DNA (cDNA) microarray technology allows simultaneous assessment of expression on many hundreds or thousands of genes simultaneously. This technology holds great promise for providing new insights into prostate carcinogenesis that will reveal new targets for preventive intervention strategies. In addition, this technology will deepen understanding of the means by which putative preventive compounds exert their effects, generating molecular genetic biomarkers of treatment efficacy. Several putative preventive agents are currently under investigation, and development of novel preventive strategies poses significant challenges. High throughput approaches, such as cDNA microarrays, will speed discovery and progress in prostate cancer chemoprevention.