Although it is well established that the androgen receptor is important for prostate cancer progression, it is unclear what drives this process. Frigo and his team demonstrated in this study that androgens take control of the AMPK signaling cascade, a master regulator of metabolism, to increase prostate cancer cell growth.
"The androgen signaling cascade is important for understanding early and late-stage prostate cancer progression. We found that when androgens activated this signaling pathway, it hijacked normal conditions, allowing the tumor to use diverse nutrients to the detriment of the patient," says Frigo. "These results emphasize the potential utility of developing metabolic-targeted therapies directed toward this signaling cascade for the treatment of prostate cancer. We look forward to exploring this and other metabolic pathways further in order to develop the next generation of cancer therapies."
source : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131220121046.htm