Intermittent androgen therapy in prostate cancer reveals the pro-apoptotic roles of androgen/androgen receptor: an overview

For the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, either castration alone or in conjunction with androgen ablation is a crucial therapeutic strategy. Patients initially respond favorably to the treatment but eventually reach a hormone-resistant stage known as an androgen refractory tumor, which has an aggressive propensity to spread. Changes in the control of apoptotic pathways have been linked to this development towards androgen unresponsiveness. Reduction in apoptosis sensitivity or elevation in resistance to it seems to be a significant indicator of oncogenic transformation that cannot be treated. Resuming androgen levels after intermittent androgen therapy has been proposed to change tumor cells' growth behavior and make them more sensitive to pro-apoptotic drugs. This review offers an overview of the current understanding of the therapeutic benefits of androgen/androgen receptor-induced apoptotic induction. It also sheds light on the implications of activating novel apoptotic pathways in prostate cancer cells with regard to resistance targeting.