The first antiandrogen was discovered in the 1960s. Antiandrogens antagonise the androgen receptor (AR) and thereby block the biological effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Antiandrogens are important for men with hormonally responsive diseases like prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BHP), acne, seborrhea, hirsutism and androgen alopecia. Antiandrogens are mainly used for the treatment of prostate diseases. Research from 2010 suggests that ARs could be linked to the disease progression of triple-negative breast cancer and salivary duct carcinoma and that antiandrogens can potentially be used to treat it.
 antiandrogens are small molecules and can be either steroidal or nonsteroidal depending on ligand chemistry. Steroidal antiandrogens share a similar steroid structure, while nonsteroidal antiandrogens (NSAAs) may have structurally distinctive pharmacophores. Only a limited number of compounds are available for clinical use despite the fact that a very large variety of antiandrogen compounds have been discovered and researched.