Steroid receptors (SRs) are members of the nuclear receptor family, which are ligand-activated transcription factors. SRs regulate many physiological functions including development and reproduction, though they can also be involved in several pathologies, especially cancer. Highly controlled cellular responses to steroids involve transcriptional regulation (genomic activity) combined with direct activation of signaling cascades (non-genomic activity). Non-genomic signaling has been extensively studied in cancer, mainly in breast cancer for ER and PR, and prostate cancer for AR. Even though most of the studies have been conducted in cells, some of them have been confirmed in vivo, highlighting the relevance of this pathway in cancer.

This review provides an overview of the current and emerging knowledge on non-genomic signaling with a focus on breast and prostate cancers and its clinical relevance. A thorough understanding of ER, PR, AR and GR non-genomic pathways may open new perspectives for the development of therapeutic strategies.

类固醇受体 (SR) 是核受体家族的成员，是配体激活的转录因子。SRs 调节许多生理功能，包括发育和繁殖，尽管它们也可能涉及多种病理，尤其是癌症。对类固醇的高度控制的细胞反应涉及转录调节（基因组活性）与信号级联的直接激活（非基因组活性）相结合。非基因组信号在癌症中得到了广泛的研究，主要在乳腺癌中用于 ER 和 PR，在前列腺癌中用于 AR。尽管大多数研究是在细胞中进行的，但其中一些已在体内得到证实，突出了该途径在癌症中的相关性。

本综述概述了关于非基因组信号传导的当前和新兴知识，重点关注乳腺癌和前列腺癌及其临床相关性。对 ER、PR、AR 和 GR 非基因组通路的透彻了解可能会为治疗策略的发展开辟新的前景。