Follicle-stimulating hormone and cancer.

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and its receptor FSHR have traditionally been studied as regulators of reproductive physiology. Recent evidence indicates that FSH-FSHR signaling may be involved in selected cancer-related processes, but its effects are highly context dependent. This review grades evidence by tumor type and distinguishes tumor-cell FSHR from vascular FSHR, as these compartments have different mechanistic, biomarker and therapeutic implications. This review discusses evidence linking this axis to proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), metabolic remodeling, cancer stemness and metastasis, with particular emphasis on ovarian cancer and on contradictory or limited findings in other tumor types. This review also evaluates FSHR detection methods, biomarker interpretation, FSHR-targeted nanomedicine and imaging approaches, and safety concerns related to off-tumor binding and endocrine-related toxicity. Further standardization of FSHR detection, endocrine-context modeling and clinically defined validation cohorts is needed before FSHR-based strategies can be translated into routine cancer care.