ABSTRACT
There is currently no curative treatment available for non-organ confined prostate cancer. Only when a tumor is detected at an early, organ-confined stage-for example, through prostate specific antigen (PSA) based screenings (Horninger et al. 2000)—can curative surgery be performed. The main choice of palliative treatment of non-organ confined prostate cancer is androgen ablation, which allows controlling tumor growth at least for some time (Auclerc et al. 2000). Deprivation of tumor cells from androgen supply by surgical or pharmacological castration (alone or in combination with antiandrogen treatment) results in inhibition of proliferation and induction of programmed cell death. However, almost all tumors develop resistance to endocrine therapy, and develop into an androgen-insensitive stage (Crawford et al. 1999).
