The p160 steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) family is critical to the transcriptional activation function of nuclear hormone receptors. A key member of this family is SRC-3, initially found to be amplified and expressed in breast cancer it has subsequent been shown to be expressed in malignant disease arising from a wide range of other organs.
An understanding of the potential role of SRC-3 in the pathogenesis and its possible prognostic role in a broad range of tumours will improve our general understanding of carcinogenesis as well as potentially leading to a new prognostic marker as well as new therapeutic targets. SRC-3 appears to be implicated in the possible risk of developing prostate and ovarian cancer.
Its presence appears to be a marker of aggressive disease. Further research is required to determine its predictive and prognostic utility given the relative paucity of studies for each specific malignant disease.