Androgen removal - castration - is an effective treatment for most human prostate cancers. The precise cellular and molecular mechanism of androgen removal-mediated regression is largely unknown.
Dividing cells require oxygen. Radiotherapy targets dividing cells. Therefore, especially hypoxic regions in a cancerous prostate tissue may harbor cancer cells that survive radiotherapy - resulting in recurrence.
A British study found that androgen removal increased the oxygen supply to prostate cancers - lessening hypoxia. This may partially explain the observed synergy of radiotherapy and androgen removal.
Milosevic et al. 2007 [Cancer research]
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