The intermediary metabolism of the prostate: A key to understanding the pathogenesis and progression of prostate malignancy

This review emphasizes the importance and role of altered intermediary meta bolism of prostate cells in the pathogenesis of prostate adenocarcinoma (PC a) and the progression of malignancy. The focus of the presentation is a su mmary of the overwhelming evidence which implicates the metabolic transform ation of citrate-producing sane cells to citrate-oxidizing malignant cells in the process of malignancy. The evidence now demonstrates that altered zi nc accumulation is an important factor in this transformation, These metabo lic relationships are uniquely different from the metabolic alterations ass ociated with tumorigenesis of other mammalian cells. The metabolic transfor mation of zinc-accumulating citrate-producing normal prostate epithelial ce lls to citrate-oxidizing malignant cells has important implications on cell ular bioenergetics, cell growth and apoptosis, lipogenesis, angiogenesis, B ased on the metabolic considerations new concepts concerning the pathogenes is, diagnosis and treatment of prostate malignancy are presented. Unfortuna tely the metabolism of the prostate has been a seriously neglected and larg ely ignored area of prostate research. The importance of expanded research into the intermediary metabolism of normal and neoplastic prostate is essen tial to future significant advances in understanding and dealing with PCa, Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.