E-Mail IMAGE: Bryce M. Paschal, PhD, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, has unveiled a new mechanism for how the androgen hormone regulates communication... view more Credit: Angela Paschal Researchers at UVA Cancer Center have unveiled important new insights into how hormones known as androgens act on our cells - and the discovery could boost efforts to develop better treatments for prostate, ovarian and breast cancers. The findings shed light on how androgens interact with their receptors inside cells to affect gene activity. This process is important in both healthy cells and certain cancers. Hormone therapy for prostate cancer, for example, aims to reduce the amount of androgen in the body, or to stop it from fueling the cancer cells. However, the approach does not work for some men, and for others it eventually fails. So scientists are eager to better understand how our cells - and cancer - interact with androgen.