Novel targets for prostate cancer chemoprevention

Abstract

Among many endocrine-related cancers, prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequent male malignancy, and it is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in men in the United States. Therefore, this review focuses on summarizing the knowledge of molecular signaling pathways in PCa because, in order to better design new preventive strategies for the fight against PCa, documentation of the knowledge on the pathogenesis of PCa at the molecular level is very important. Cancer cells are known to have alterations in multiple cellular signaling pathways; indeed, the development and the progression of PCa are known to be caused by the deregulation of several selective signaling pathways such as the androgen receptor, Akt, nuclear factor-kappaB, Wnt, Hedgehog, and Notch. Therefore, strategies targeting these important pathways and their upstream and downstream signaling could be promising for the prevention of PCa progression. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the alterations in cell signaling pathways during the development and progression of PCa, and document compelling evidence showing that these are the targets of several natural agents against PCa progression and its metastases.

Figure 1

Major cell signaling pathways altered during the development and progression of prostate cancer. The dysfunctions of AR, Akt, NF-κB, Wnt, Hedgehog, and Notch signaling could result in the uncontrolled transcription and proliferation of prostatic epithelial cells, leading to the formation of prostate cancer. The crosstalk between AR, Akt, NF-κB, Wnt, Hedgehog, and Notch signaling plays critical roles in prostatic carcinogenesis. Therefore, targeting these signaling pathways is important strategy for the prevention of prostate cancer.