Stranger Things: New Roles and Opportunities for Androgen Receptor in Oncology Beyond Prostate Cancer

Endocrinology. 2023 Apr 17;164(6):bqad071. doi: 10.1210/endocr/bqad071.

Abstract

The androgen receptor (AR) is one of the oldest therapeutic targets in oncology and continues to dominate the treatment landscape for advanced prostate cancer, where nearly all treatment regimens include some form of AR modulation. In this regard, AR remains the central driver of prostate cancer cell biology. Emerging preclinical and clinical data implicate key roles for AR in additional cancer types, thereby expanding the importance of this drug target beyond prostate cancer. In this mini-review, new roles for AR in other cancer types are discussed as well as their potential for treatment with AR-targeted agents. Our understanding of these additional functions for AR in oncology expand this receptor's potential as a therapeutic target and will help guide the development of new treatment approaches.

Keywords: adrenal cancer; androgen receptor; bladder cancer; breast cancer; endometrial cancer; liver cancer; melanoma; prostate cancer.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Androgen Receptor Antagonists / pharmacology
  • Androgen Receptor Antagonists / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / pharmacology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant* / metabolism
  • Receptors, Androgen / genetics
  • Receptors, Androgen / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Androgen Receptor Antagonists
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Receptors, Androgen
  • AR protein, human