Androgen receptors beyond prostate cancer: an old marker as a new target

// Javier Munoz 1,* , Jennifer J. Wheler 2,* and Razelle Kurzrock 3 1 Hematology-Oncology, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Gilbert, Arizona 2 Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Clinical Trials Program), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 3 Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy, Division and Hematology and Oncology, Moores Cancer Center, The University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California * These authors share first authorship Correspondence: Jennifer J. Wheler, email: // Keywords : androgen receptor, therapy, molecular abnormalities, phase I clinical trials Received : October 16, 2014 Accepted : November 14, 2014 Published : November 15, 2014 Abstract Androgen receptors (ARs) play a critical role in the development of prostate cancer. Targeting ARs results in important salutary effects in this malignancy. Despite mounting evidence that ARs also participate in the pathogenesis and/or progression of diverse tumors, exploring the impact of hormonal manipulation of these receptors has not been widely pursued beyond prostate cancer. This review describes patterns of AR expression in a spectrum of cancers, and the potential to exploit this knowledge in the clinical therapeutic setting.