A protein considered to be useful for regulation of expression of androgen receptors can be termed as the new focal point for staging and treating testosterone-fueled prostate cancer, as per researchers from the Medical College of Georgia.

The study was able to find that levels of the protein, βarrestin2, were lower in certain prostate cancer cells than in normal prostate cells while the expression of testosterone-fed androgen receptors is higher.

These findings were reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition.

From Sciencedaily.com:

With increased numbers of androgen receptors,  can make use of the limited testosterone available after a diseased prostate gland is removed or after testosterone production is blocked by drug therapy. In fact, the increased number of androgen receptors may mutate so they can start feeding off other steroids or even growth factors, Dr. Daaka says.

These wily skills help explain why cancer returns despite initially promising treatment results.

“It is clear that signaling by the androgen receptor is paramount for not only the initiation but also the progression of the disease, including escape to a hormone-refractory disease,” he says. Moves androgen receptors make to support cancer growth make it “unbeatable at this point,” for some patients.

However increased levels of βarrestin2 appear to halt the potentially deadly increase in androgen receptor expression, the MCG research team has found.

The study’s corresponding author, Dr. Yehia Daaka, Distinguished Chair in Oncologic Pathology in the MCG School of Medicine, remarked that the increase in the number of androgen receptors can be held responsible for prostate cancer progression in men with advanced complication.