Lots of various abstracts and info has been found and written about
concerning the AR (androgen receptor) and it is rather key in the drugs used to try and control PCa in patients. The AR receptor can be overly expressed in patients from the get-go and can be tested for easily via pathology right now in anybody, and yet this test is not used nearly enough right now. Via staining ones biopsy slides (Chromgranin) testing can be done and is definitive as to finding is this gene overly expressed? If known up front would be huge clue for oncologist in your therapies, uro-doc probably much less so since he is not versed in biological and all drugs useable in PCa therapies.
If it is found that it is overly expressed, it is already known the patient has much more risk for failure (i.e. sooner than usual) and that hormone related therapies will not be as effective or for as long, comparatively. Yet, our medical people rarely submit or ask for the AR stainings for your pathology, not even a big deal or cost envolved....just blind on its value...they basically want to establish your Gleason grade(s) and jump into a treatment. (I guess)
Saw a presentation last night and some researchers like Sarah Parsons, J.T. Parsons, Liang Cheng and some others have found a very startling thing within this AR receptor that has been controversial for decades and still is. Something like 12,930 genes tested to try and figure out which one(s) cause the AR receptor to become resistant (or maybe morph). Remember this name, herein it will become 'THE' target to influence and thus gain control more so of PCa in patients. PTHrP (parathyroid-hormone-related-protein) was found to be the common link in testing for AR receptor turning into hrpca or resistant PCa out of 12,930 they tested. (significant findings) Sorry I don't have the Journal article info from this presentation, if someone finds it then post it for (fun) reading. The new drug MDV3100 might also be very significant because it has found a way to bind to the AR receptor much better than casodex and flutamides..etc., but too would be likely to fail at some point.
Here is some info on Sarah Parsons and J.T. Parsons researchers at Univ. Virginia, J.T. got a 2009 Univ. award on the SRC gene (this gene was found by Peyton Rous in like 1911 and later he got the nobel prize for this). Sarah gets credit for helping find this protein PTHrP as the underlying common link in AR becoming resistant (thus your refractiveness to drug therapies). We will probably see info about this PTHrP protein and abstracts concerning it, in the next months or years.
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/67/8/3663.abstract
http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v23/n48/full/1208163a.html
A lot of newer research is going on thanks to genome info and other findings within the last few years, that were never known prior.