IMR Press / FBL / Volume 7 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.2741/florio

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
GnRH and steroids in cancer
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1 Dept. of Structures, Functions and Biological Technologies and Dept. of Pathology and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine University of Naples “Federico II” Naples, Italy
2 Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine. College of Science and Technology, Temple University, 1900 N 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2002, 7(4), 1590–1608; https://doi.org/10.2741/florio
Published: 1 June 2002
Abstract

Gonadotropin-releasing-hormone (GnRH) analogues are synthetic compounds derived from decapeptide neurohormones (LHRH; LH/FSH-RH). They have a key role in hormone dependent cancer, particularly breast and prostate cancer. GnRH analogues produce an efficient inhibition of gonadotropins and sex steroid hormones. Their use in cancer therapy result in a, pharmacological castration (i.e. ovariectomy and orchiectomy), providing an androgen and estrogen ablation. GnRH exert an inhibitory action on the growth of hormone-dependent human and canine mammary tumor. Mammary tumors can produce growth factor that potentially could modulate their own proliferation in an autocrine fashion (i.e. TGF-α and TGF-β or with a paracrine mechanism (i.e. EGF, IGF, FGF). The expression of EGF receptors is related in mammary tissues to the action of oestrogen and progesteron and to the presence of functional receptors for oestrogen (ER) and progesteron (PR). The present review elucidate the role of GnRH receptors in cancer and their connection with steroid hormones. Besides we showed the link between GnRH and signal transductions pathways: Estrogen-receptors, GnRH-receptors, EGF-receptors signal transduction pathways. A very tight link exists between steroid hormones and GnRH analogues both on central pituitary gonadal axis and on tumor receptors peripherically. This last mechanism could be explained either locally activating GnRH receptors or locally interacting with EGF receptor-Intracellular NitricOxide system.

Keywords
GnRH
Steroids
Cancer
Signal Trasduction
Review
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