The role of calcium channels in prostate cancer progression and potential as a druggable target for prostate cancer treatment

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most diagnosed malignancy among men in various parts of the world (Kimura and Egawa, 2018). In 2020, there were an estimated approximately 1.4 million new cases and 375,304 deaths from prostate cancer worldwide, and it was the second most common cancer and the fifth major cause of cancer mortality among males. Furthermore, it accounts for 14.1 % and 6.8 % of all new cancer cases and total cancer related deaths in men during the same year, respectively (Sung et al., 2021). Prostate cancer incidence rate is three times higher in developed countries than in developing countries; the highest rates were seen in Northern Europe, Western Europe, New Zealand/Australia, the Caribbean, and Northern America, while the lowest rates were found in Northern Africa, and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia. However, the mortality rates do not follow the same trends as the incidence rates, with sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and Micronesia/Polynesia having the highest mortality rates (Sung et al., 2021). In the United States, nearly 288,300 new cases and 34,700 deaths from prostate cancer are estimated to occur in 2023, which makes it the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second most common cause of cancer mortality among men (Siegel et al., 2023). In China, there were an estimated 125,646 new cases and 56,239 deaths from PCa in 2022, a significant rise from the previous years, partly due to key factors such as the aging population and the growth of the adult population size (Xia et al., 2022).

Despite advanced developments in PCa diagnosis and treatment (Litwin and Tan, 2017), the current understanding of PCa pathogenesis and metastatic processes is still limited. Discovering novel prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets has gained particular attention. Calcium signaling regulates various cellular processes, including contraction, apoptosis, proliferation, secretion, and gene expression. It has a significant impact on many pathologies and is associated with altered tissue invasion and growth during neoplastic transformation (Marchetti, 2022). Calcium signaling has been implicated in PCa progression and the development of treatment resistance (Maly and Hofmann, 2018). The role of calcium channels in prostate cancer has been well understood for many years, with the earliest discoveries that calcium channel blockers influence the evolution of cancer toward a more aggressive phase. Later studies discovered new classes of channel proteins that play crucial regulatory roles in malignant transformation (Shapovalov et al., 2013). Recent advancements in the study of calcium channels suggest new directions for more accurate detection and treatment of PCa. In this review, we discuss the role of calcium channels in PCa development and progression, and we identify current novel discoveries of drugs that target specific calcium channels for the treatment of PCa.

留言 (0)

沒有登入
gif