STAMPs at the Crossroads of Cancer and Nutrition.

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed noncutaneous cancer among men in Western developed countries. Nutrition and environmental factors play a major role in the onset of the disease, but the molecular details for the contribution of each factor is elusive. In an effort to better understand the basic biology of prostate cancer, we identified a new protein family that is named the 6 trans-membrane protein of prostate (STAMP) that appear to have important functions in prostate cancer. At least one member of the STAMP family is also implicated in metabolic homeostasis and nutrition response. Here, we review the current biology of the STAMP proteins and how they may be implicated in disease states including cancer and metabolic syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]