Androgens, androgen receptors, antiandrogens and the treatment of prostate cancer.

Androgens play a major role in promoting the growth of the prostate gland. The DHT-androgen receptor complex, by association with the androgen response elements, specifically promotes this androgenic effect on the genome. Also recognized now, however, is that there is a close relationship between this androgen-mediated signalling pathway and those promoted by peptide growth factors, the crosstalk between the pathways being pivotal to growth regulatory control. This is discussed together with the perceived clinical potential of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of prostate cancer, when the intracellular signalling, induced by the growth stimulatory factors, can be repressed.