Insights into the Pharmacogenomics of Hormonal Therapy for Advanced Prostate Cancer

Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) as initial management of patients with advanced prostate cancer has been the standard of care for more than 6 decades. Nonetheless, despite a very high initial response rate, essentially all patients ultimately will experience disease progression in the setting of castrate levels of testosterone. The molecular mechanisms that lead to “hormone-refractory disease” are complex and, to date, poorly characterized. Investigators postulated that genetic polymorphisms within the androgen metabolic pathway might influence the efficacy of ADT.

Researchers in Boston reviewed the records of 529 men with advanced prostate cancer who received ADT from 1988 through 2006 and who consented to blood collection for research p…