DR-421 Molecular functions of steroid hormones in promoting prostate cancer progression

Prostate cancer relies on steroid hormones for development and progression. Hence, targeting steroid hormone pathways by androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is an efficient therapeutic approach to halt cancer progression. However, despite efficient repression of testosterone by ADT, patients still experience progression to more advanced cancer stages. Recent observations suggest that steroid hormones other than testosterone are not blocked by treatments and significantly contribute to progression of castration sensitive and castration resistant prostate cancer. Through the study of RNA expression data from the Hartwig Medical Foundation, we propose to investigate the molecular pathways triggered by these novel steroid hormones, and validate in prostate cancer patients the recent findings made with preclinical prostate cancer models.

Chantal Guillemette, CHU de Québec Research Center – Université Laval, Canada