Title:Targeting the Bone Microenvironment in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Volume: 17
Issue: 3
Author(s): Pavlos Msaouel, Jose Nahun Galeas, Alejandro Recio Boiles, Ramiro Rancier Ruiz and Michael Koutsilieris
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Bone metastasis, castration-resistant prostate cancer, tumor microenvironment.
Abstract: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is universally incurable and represents
an area of substantial unmet medical need. Novel targets and therapeutic strategies have emerged
based on an improved understanding of the crosstalk between prostate cancer cells and the bone microenvironment.
A wide variety of signaling systems including the RANKL/RANK/OPG, IGF-I, FGF
and Wnt:DKK-1 pathways can be targeted to suppress tumor growth and treatment resistance. Antisurvival
factor therapy can increase the efficacy of standard antineoplastic regimens by targeting biologic
molecules acting as “survival factors” within the bone microenvironment. Novel agents can also be used to mobilize
the host immune system to attack prostate cancer cells. Clinical testing of these therapeutic approaches has produced encouraging
objective clinical responses in subsets of patients with mCRPC. The present review summarizes data regarding
the emerging strategies used to target the bone microenvironment in mCRPC.
