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Ibrahim et al. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2018;4:1-17 Journal of
DOI: 10.20517/2394-4722.2018.07
Cancer Metastasis and Treatment

www.jcmtjournal.com
Topic: How does the prostate cancer microenvironment affect the metastatic Open Access
process and/or treatment outcome?

Expression and regulation of aldehyde
dehydrogenases in prostate cancer

Ali I. M. Ibrahim , Maria Sadiq , Fiona M. Frame , Norman J. Maitland , Klaus Pors 1
3
1
3
1,2
1 Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 1DP, UK.
2 Department of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman 11733, Jordan.
3 Cancer Research Unit, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, North Yorkshire YO10 5DD, UK.
Correspondence to: Dr. Klaus Pors, Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of
Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 1DP, UK. E-mail: k.pors1@bradford.ac.uk
How to cite this article: Ibrahim AIM, Sadiq M, Frame FM, Maitland NJ, Pors K. Expression and regulation of aldehyde dehydrogenases in prostate
cancer. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2018;4:1-17.
ABSTRACT
Article history: The functional role of aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) in prostate cancer remains an
Received: 3 Feb 2018 area of some controversy. Many studies have used high ALDH functional activity to isolate
First Decision: 24 Feb 2018 putative cancer stem cells with tumour-initiating and propagating properties, while evidence
Revised: 9 Apr 2018 is also emerging about the involvement of specific isoforms in migration, invasiveness and
Accepted: 14 Jul 2018 metastasis. Identification of specific ALDH isoforms, which contribute to both drug resistance
Published: 21 Aug 2018 and aggressiveness of the disease remains a challenge within the complex heterogeneity of
prostate cancer. The purpose of this perspective is to dissect functional roles for ALDH in
Key words: the tumour microenvironment and to evaluate the potential of the ALDH gene family as
Aldehyde dehydrogenase, biomarkers and/or targets for therapeutic intervention.
retinoic acid,
prostate cancer,
castration-resistant prostate cancer,
cancer stem cells,
multidrug resistance

INTRODUCTION however this is not true for all PCa’s. Whilst the
underlying cause of PCa is not fully understood, the
initial stages of PCa frequently depend on androgens
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer for cellular proliferation. If radiotherapy or radical
affecting men in the developed world. In the UK alone, prostatectomy cannot be used to eradicate or remove
over 47,000 new cases are diagnosed and more the tumour, then it is effectively treated by androgen
than 11,000 cancer related deaths are registered deprivation therapy (ADT) [1,2] , especially if the tumour
every year (Prostate Cancer UK, 2016). PCa is often has escaped the capsule. However, the tumour
present in the absence of apparent symptoms for invariably relapses in most patients after ADT, leading
many years, and so is considered to be slow-growing, to an aggressive form of PCa known as castration-

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