It is not semantics anymore. Prostate Cancer is a heterogeneous disease. It appears that in patients touted to have Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer (HRPC), the cells continue to produce androgen receptor message even in the absence of androgens. The tumor cells are therefore not androgen independent. On the contrary, they continue to thrive, having access to androgens or androgen precursors, by various different mechanisms. It is for this reason imperative that one continue chemical castration with LHRH agonists concurrently with other lines of treatment including chemotherapy.
So the appropriate term should be Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer rather than Androgen Independent Prostate Cancer.
