Gonadotropins and prostate cancer: revisited.

Luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone are called gonadotropins, because they stimulate the gonads - in males the testes and in females the ovaries. They are not necessary for life, but are essential for reproduction. In addition, the association of these hormones with prostate cancer has been the interest of many researchers. Their detection in the human prostate has been investigated using different methods, including immunologic and RT-PCR techniques. In addition, the increasing evidence of paracrine/autocrine functions of the gonadotropic glycoprotein hormones, their allocation to the superfamily of cystine knot growth factors, and luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptor gene expression in non-gonadal tissues led many researchers to investigate intraprostatic glycoprotein hormones and their receptor gene expression. We aim in this review to shed light on the physiology of the gonadotropins and their association with prostate cancer and highlight the future possibilities of their use as targets in treating this disease. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.