Androgen receptor targeted conjugate for bimodal photodynamic therapy of prostate cancer in vitro.

Prostate cancer (PC) represents the most common type of cancer among males and is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in Western society. Current options for PC therapy remain unsatisfactory, since they often produce uncomfortable long-term side effects, such as impotence (70%) and incontinence (5-20%) even in the first-stages of the disease. Light-triggered therapies, such as photodynamic therapy, have the potential to provide important advances in the treatment of localized and partially metastasized prostate cancer. We have designed a novel molecular conjugate (DR2) constituted of a photosensitizer (pheophorbide a, Pba), connected to a non-steroidal antiandrogen molecule through a small pegylated linker. This study aims at investigating whether DR2 represents a valuable approach for PC treatment based on light-induced production of single oxygen and nitric oxide (NO) in vitro.