Irradiation augmentation of genistein-induced apoptosis in androgen-independent DU-145 prostate cancer cells in vitro

Cancer is a complex disease that occurs as a result of accumulated mutations, genetic instability, and altered cellular metabolism, contributing to malignant transformation and to the initiation, growth, and maintenance/proliferation of tumors.1 Prostate cancer (PCa) is still the most common non-skin cancer among men in the United States.2 The American Cancer Society has estimated 164,690 new cases and 29,430 deaths from prostate cancer for 2018.3 The standard treatment modalities (surgery, radio-chemotherapy, hormonal therapy) have been effective in improving the lifestyle of patients. Although the locally confined disease is treatable, treatment of the metastasized prostate cancer is still incurable with mostly guarded prognosis.4,5 The development of resistance to both radiation and chemotherapy has limited the efficacy of current therapeutic interventions for PCa. This has necessitated the search for novel and safer alternative therapeutic regimens. One way to circumvent potential treatment-induced resistance is combination treatment, using two or more therapies that may be mutually inclusive or exclusive in terms of their mechanism of actions.