Astrocytoma: A Hormone-Sensitive Tumor?
Int J Mol Sci
; 21(23)2020 Nov 30.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33266110
ABSTRACT
Astrocytomas and, in particular, their most severe form, glioblastoma, are the most aggressive primary brain tumors and those with the poorest vital prognosis. Standard treatment only slightly improves patient survival. Therefore, new therapies are needed. Very few risk factors have been clearly identified but many epidemiological studies have reported a higher incidence in men than women with a sex ratio of 14. Based on these observations, it has been proposed that the neurosteroids and especially the estrogens found in higher concentrations in women's brains could, in part, explain this difference. Estrogens can bind to nuclear or membrane receptors and potentially stimulate many different interconnected signaling pathways. The study of these receptors is even more complex since many isoforms are produced from each estrogen receptor encoding gene through alternative promoter usage or splicing, with each of them potentially having a specific role in the cell. The purpose of this review is to discuss recent data supporting the involvement of steroids during gliomagenesis and to focus on the potential neuroprotective role as well as the mechanisms of action of estrogens in gliomas.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Astrocytoma
/
Hormones
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Mol Sci
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Francia