Prostate cancer is the most prevalent non-skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men of the western world. As growth and differentiation of prostate cancer largely depend on androgens, inhibition of the androgen/androgen receptor signaling axis is the main treatment for locally advanced and/or metastatic tumors. Although first-line androgen deprivation therapies like chemical/surgical castration and/or administration of anti-androgens are able to control the disease for several years, prostate cancer almost invariably recurs as castration-resistant prostate cancer. This stage of the disease is characterized by a sustained AR-signaling despite castrate levels of circulating androgens. Various molecular mechanisms were shown to induce castration resistance. This review will discuss the most recent and relevant experimental findings on AR-signaling in castration-resistant prostate cancer in order to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the clinical behavior of this tumor entity following treatments with abiraterone, enzalutamide, ARN-509 or taxanes.
Keywords: AR-point mutations; AR-variants; Abiraterone; Enzalutamide; Personalized medicine.