Hormone Signaling in Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Hormone cell signaling functions in transcriptional activation and gene expression, regulating key physiological processes. However, abnormal hormone levels increase the risk of hormone-dependent malignancies, metabolic disorders, and immune dysfunctions. Cellular proliferation, migration, angiogenesis, and drug resistance mechanisms are modulated by para- and autocrine hormonal stimulation, highlighting the importance of altered endocrine stimulation in the onset and maintenance of cancer. Hormonal stimulation mainly acts by binding to receptors expressed by target cells. In many cases, these receptors are found on the target cell surface, but some receptors are intracellular proteins located in the cytosol or the nucleus. The activation of receptors by external signaling molecules sets off a complex chain of events within the cell that can result in altered protein structure and function and/or changes in gene expression. The elucidation of complex hormone signaling factors converging into the regulation of normal cell function should provide insights into how disruption of these processes may contribute to cancer. In this Special Issue, we focus on hormonal carcinogenesis and pathways leading to hormone alterations; on crosstalk between the extracellular matrix, environmental signals, and cancer; as well as on promising molecules that may potentially open up new therapeutic options for the treatment of hormone-related/dependent cancers. Drug discovery efforts to identify novel hormone-directed therapeutic agents or new routes overcoming innate and acquired resistance to hormone therapy should create breakthroughs in the treatment of breast and prostate cancers, which, at present, account for the two most frequent cancers worldwide.

Dr. Rosaria Benedetti
Dr. Antonella di Costanzo
Dr. Federica Sarno
Guest Editors

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