Transcriptional profiling of transurethral resection samples provides insight into molecular mechanisms of hormone refractory prostate cancer.

The molecular mechanisms for hormone-resistant prostate cancer progression still remain elusive, mainly due to the limited availability of corresponding tissue. As transurethral resection (TUR) is a common palliative therapy for patients with hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) who have subvesical obstruction, we aimed to demonstrate that TUR samples can be used to identify significantly affected biological pathways during the switch to HRPC using oligonucleotide microarray analysis. Among the most significantly deregulated pathways in HRPC, we observed an induction of oxidative phosphorylation and a repression of cytoskeletal components.