Evolution of Models of Prostate Cancer: Their Contribution to Current Therapies

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is among the most frequent cancers worldwide. Nowadays, several therapeutic strategies are available for PCa treatment, namely chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapy. Despite existing therapeutic approaches, in vitro and in vivo models are essential to better understand cancer development and search for more effective therapies, with a positive impact in cancer patient survival and quality of life. Among several models available, the rat model is the one most frequently used, since it shares anatomical, physiological, pathological, and behavioral features with humans. Animal models can be classified as: spontaneous, chemically-induced; hormonally-induced; implantation of cancer cell lines obtained from humans or from the same species, in the place of disease development or in a different place; and genetically-modified models. The chemically-induced models are among the most frequently used for PCa research. This manuscript provides a comprehensive overview of PCa models, presenting their application, advantages, and disadvantages, and their importance for the development of current therapies for prostate cancer.Prostate cancer (PCa) is among the most common cancers in men. In 2020, PCa was the third most diagnosed neoplasia, with 1,414,259 new cases (7.3% of all cancer cases) and 375,304 deaths (1).During the last decades, PCa therapy has seen a remarkable evolution in many sectors, namely chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapy. New precision medicine strategies and treatments are also suffering massive developments nowadays, also for PCa management, namely new proteomic and genomic technologies, non-coding RNA therapeutics or gene editing technologies (2).Over the decades, different animal and non-animal models have been used to describe PCa morphologically, evaluate its development, set up prognostics, and develop more successful and globally used treatments.This work aimed to review the different models used in PCa research among the decades and highlight their significant contribution to the discovery of various therapies regularly used nowadays to treat men with PCa and significantly improve their lives. Prostate Cancer: An OverviewPCa is a neoplasia that results from the uncontrolled growth of the prostatic gland cells. Almost all PCas are adenocarcinomas. However, histologically, two types can be considered: acinar adenocarcinoma and non-acinar carcinoma. PCa acinar 323

RETRACTED: New insights into molecular signaling pathways and current advancements in prostate cancer diagnostics & therapeutics

“…Some potential adverse effects include immune-related side effects, allergic reactions, endocrine-related side effects, changes in blood cell counts, etc. ( 157 ). Afterwards, another type of therapy used is radiation therapy, which uses high-energy beams to target and kill cancer cells.…”

“…Over the time, prostate cancer cells may become resistant to hormone therapy, leading to disease progression. This is known as castration-resistant prostate cancer, and additional treatment options are available for managing this stage of the disease ( 157 ). Then comes targeted therapy, which aims to selectively inhibit the growth and spread of cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissues.…”

How clinically relevant are prostate cancer cell lines? A comprehensive characterisation and multiomics comparison

“…Traditional 2D monoculture cell lines are employed to investigate mechanisms and test drugs(14). In vitro PCa models have advanced to better emulate in vivo PCa by incorporating cells in various setups and 3D cell line-based models(15). Molecular characterization and limited detail of the clinical features of the patients PCa cell lines were derived from exists.…”

Editorial: Special Issue “Addressing New Therapeutic Strategies Using Models”

“…For disease modeling to be meaningful, a relevant cellular or genetic phenotype must be observed. Without the use of models, both research and clinical practice worldwide would be vastly different today [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ].…”