STROMAL EPITHELIAL INTERACTION AFFECTING PROSTATE TUMOR-GROWTH AND HORMONAL RESPONSIVENESS

This article has reviewed the significance of mesenchymal-epithelial interactions in determining androgen-responsiveness, and also during prostate morphogenesis, carcinogenesis and tumour progression. The stromal tissue microenvironment exerts profound regulatory effects on both normal and malignant epithelial cells. Accumulated data from many laboratories indicate that cancer progression is not only determined by the cancer cell itself, but is also influenced by the surrounding microenvironment (Fukamachi et al. 1986, Hayashi et al. 1989, Gleave et al. 1991). Therefore, future investigations regarding the molecular mechanism(s) associated with the initiation and progression of prostate cancer must consider both somatic mutation (genetic alteration) and paracrine interaction between different cell types (epigenetic alteration).