title: Highlights of abstracts on hormone-refractory prostate cancer presented at the 1996 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
abstract: Among the more interesting studies at the 1996 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology that related to hormone-refractory prostate cancer were several that reported on the use of cis-retinoic acid both alone and in combination with interferon-alpha. Interferon-alpha and interferon-alpha plus cis-retinoic acid have antiproliferative effects in vitro against both PC3 and D-145 prostate cancer cells in culture. BCL2 expression is increased in androgen-independent cells, which may block apoptosis, and retinoids induce transforming growth factor-beta and apoptosis in prostate cancer cell lines. This regimen raises many questions. For example, it is difficult to determine what prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level one should expect from cis-retinoic acid, 4HPR, or any of the other differentiating agents. Should there be an increase in PSA1 Should one expect a slower decline in PSA when giving additional agents that are in fact cytotoxic? What is the significance of a changing level of PSA after this and other types of treatment? These and other questions remain to be determined in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis 46202-5289, USA.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Roth
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017209:Apoptosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009376:Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014212:Tretinoin; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen