The role of androgen receptors in the dynamic process of prostate cancer: their analytical determination in biopsy material

Under normal conditions, androgen receptors function via ligand binding and other coactivators in prostate cancer cells. The effects of the currently applied therapy are achieved through inhibition of the formation of the testosterone-receptor complex. With the advance of research at a cellular level, it is now known that tumorigenesis is much more complicated, and that tumour cell growth regulated by androgens is a complex process. The aim of our work was to utilize literature data in a search for a correlation between the number of androgen receptors and the clinical course of the disease. Transperineal ultrasound-guided biopsies were performed on 82 (otherwise unselected) patients with suspected prostate cancer, and the numbers of androgen receptors in the tissue samples were determined by a receptor-analytical method. Prostate cancer was confirmed in 43 cases. Rebiopsy was scheduled for 1 year later. We were able to carry out repeated biopsies in 18 cases, and to determine the number of receptors by the earlier method. The patients were followed clinically, and the efficacy of their medication was measured via improvement in their general condition and study of the prostate-specific antigen level. The investigation demonstrated that determination of the number of receptors itself is not of prognostic value, but it does provide information to supplement the other parameters relating to the state.