Moreover, published reports indicate that finasteride does not alter the expression profile of important proteins that are commonly used as apoptotic markers, such as caspase-3, insulin growth factor-1, Bcl-2, p53 and p21, and that its exposure leads to the downregulation of other apoptotic factors, such as caspase-7 and IGFBP-3, in prostate cancer samples from patients undergoing radical prostatectomy [21]. This evidence concerns the gene BCL2 and prostate cancer.