Abiraterone acetate: redefining hormone treatment for advanced prostate cancer

Prostate cancer has long since been recognised as being hormonally driven via androgen receptor signalling. Abiraterone acetate (AA) is a rationally designed CYP17 inhibitor that blocks the conversion of androgens from non-gonadal precursors effectively, thus reducing testosterone to undetectable levels. AA has recently been proved to extend survival for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have progressive disease after first-line chemotherapy treatment. In addition, it is currently being tested in a Phase III trial in the pre-chemotherapy setting. This paper will review the preclinical discovery and clinical development of AA and will outline the strategy of parallel translational research.