REVIEW article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Cancer Cell Biology
This article is part of the Research TopicProgress in Molecular Mechanisms and Targeted Therapies for Solid Tumor MicroenvironmentsView all 13 articles
Unravelling targeted therapy in prostate cancer: From molecular mechanisms to translational opportunities
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- 2Shenzhen Bao'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
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Prostate cancer, ranking among the most prevalent malignancies in males worldwide, is undergoing a significant evolution in therapeutic paradigms from conventional approaches to precision medicine, with recent advances in targeted therapies offering novel strategic insights. This review delineates the molecular foundations of prostate carcinogenesis, elucidating pivotal domains including genetic mutations, hormonal regulation, tumor microenvironment dynamics, cell cycle dysregulation, epigenetic modifications, and tumor heterogeneity. Furthermore, we evaluate the clinical translation of targeted strategies such as AR signaling axis inhibition, PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway modulation, DNA damage repair machinery exploitation, prostate-specific membrane antigen -directed interventions, and combinatorial immunotherapy. Concurrent challenges — AR-driven heterogeneity, adaptive drug resistance mechanisms, spliceosomal vulnerabilities, and scarcity of selective molecular targets—are critically analyzed. Notwithstanding these obstacles, targeted therapies exhibit considerable potential to enhance therapeutic efficacy while mitigating systemic toxicities, paving the way for more personalized and precision-oriented oncologic care. By underscoring the imperative to decode prostate cancer's molecular architecture, this work outlines future research priorities and advances a robust scientific framework for innovation in therapeutic development.
Keywords: prostate cancer, targeted therapy, PROTACs, androgen receptor, Tumor Microenvironment, Molecular mechanisms
Received: 14 Aug 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Qiu, Hong, Wang, Li and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Quan Wang, wang3169332@163.com
Qixin Li, 1423440039@qq.com
Wenbin Zhou, zwb1054@gzucm.edu.cn
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