Knowing what's growing: Why ductal and intraductal prostate cancer matter

68Ga-PSMA PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of prostatic ductal cancer

PURPOSES

To explore the characteristics of PSMA PET/CT and FDG PET/CT images in prostatic ductal adenocarcinoma (DA) patients.

METHODS

We retrospectively enrolled prostatic DA patients with PET/CT scans at Tongji Hospital from 2018 to 2022. Patients with prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma (AA) and benign pathology (BP) were enrolled by 1:1 matching. Differences in the uptake of primary and metastatic foci on PET among the groups were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 42 patients were enrolled: 14 in each group. In primary foci, the mean PSMA uptake in the DA group was lower than that in the AA group (14.2 ± 9.6 vs. 27.1 ± 14.3, P = 0.009) and greater than that in the BP group (14.2 ± 9.6 vs. 4.7 ± 1.3, P = 0.003). The AUCs of the DA-AA ROC curve and DA-BP ROC curve were 0.781 and 0.872, respectively. The median PSMA uptake of metastatic lymph nodes in the DA group was lower than that in the AA group (5.6 vs. 14.2, P = 0.033), with no significant difference in metastatic bone lesions (9.5 vs 19.1, P = 0.485). No significant difference was found in the FDG uptake of primary and metastatic foci between the DA and AA groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Prostatic DA has greater PSMA uptake than BP diseases, but lower uptake in both primary foci and metastatic lymph nodes than AA on PSMA PET/CT, aiding in the differential diagnosis of DA, AA and BP diseases. Clinicians should combine traditional imaging with PSMA PET/CT to avoid underestimating the clinical stage of DA patients.

Nomogram for predicting the overall survival and cancer-specific survival of patients with intraductal carcinoma of the prostate

PURPOSE

Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P) is a histological subtype that differs from conventional acinar adenocarcinoma in terms of its origin, appearance, and pathological features. For IDC-P, there is currently no recognized best course of action, and its prognosis is unclear. The goal of this study is to analyze independent prognostic factors in IDC-P patients and to develop and validate a nomogram to predict overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS).

METHODS

Clinical data for IDC-P patients were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. To identify the independent variables influencing prognosis, multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed. A nomogram model was created utilizing these variables after comparing the variations in OS and CSS among various subgroups using Kaplan‒Meier curves. Internal validation of the nomograms was verified using the bootstrap resampling method.

RESULTS

The study included 280 IDC-P patients in total. Marital status, summary stage, grade, and the presence of lung metastases were significant factors impacting OS, and CSS was significantly influenced by marital status, summary stage, AJCC stage, the presence of lung metastases, the presence of bone metastases, and PSA according to univariate and multivariate Cox regression models (P < 0.05). Nomogram models were created to estimate OS and CSS using these parameters. The OS prediction model's C-index was 0.744, whereas the CSS prediction model's C-index was 0.831.

CONCLUSION

We developed and verified nomogram models for the prediction of 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS and CSS in patients with IDC-P. These nomograms serve as a resource for evaluating patient prognosis, therapy, and diagnosis, ultimately improving clinical decision-making accuracy.

Recent insights on the clinical, pathological, and molecular features of intraductal carcinoma of the prostate

Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate, a unique histopathologic entity that is often observed (especially in advanced prostate cancer), is characterized by the proliferation of malignant cells within normal acini or ducts surrounded by a basement membrane. Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate is almost invariably associated with an adjacent high-grade carcinoma and is occasionally observed as an isolated subtype. Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate has been demonstrated to be an independent poor prognostic factor for all stages of cancer, whether localized, de novo metastatic, or castration-resistant. It also has a characteristic genetic profile, including high genomic instability. Recognizing and differentiating it from other pathologies is therefore important in patient management, and morphological diagnostic criteria for intraductal carcinoma of the prostate have been established. This review summarizes and outlines the clinical and pathological features, differential diagnosis, molecular aspects, and management of intraductal carcinoma of the prostate, as described in previous studies. We also present a discussion and future perspectives regarding intraductal carcinoma of the prostate.

Molecular complexity of intraductal carcinoma of the prostate

Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P) is an aggressive subtype of prostate cancer characterized by the growth of tumor cells within the prostate ducts. It is often found alongside invasive carcinoma and is associated with poor prognosis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms driving IDC-P is crucial for improved diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment strategies. This review summarizes the molecular characteristics of IDC-P and their prognostic indications, comparing them to conventional prostate acinar adenocarcinoma, to gain insights into its unique behavior and identify potential therapeutic targets.

High GLUT1 membrane expression and low PSMA membrane expression in Ductal Adenocarcinoma and Intraductal Carcinoma of the prostate

BACKGROUND

Both Ductal Adenocarcinoma (DAC) and Intraductal Carcinoma (IDC) of the prostate are generally associated with aggressive clinical behavior and poor prognosis, which were linked with discordant FDG positivity and low Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) expression. A recent study only cited a DAC patient with low 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT uptake but high 18F-FDG PET/CT uptake, however, there is lack of directly compared articles nor large data sets. Hence, the objective of this study was to investigate the expression of PSMA and GLUT1 in DAC and IDC-P patients.

METHODS

The study was conducted on 87 DAC or/and IDC-P patients without any treatment and 97 PAC patients with a Gleason score ≥8 of prostate biopsies and prostatectomy samples between August 2017 and August 2022. We performed immunohistochemical staining and scoring of various cancer component samples from the patients to reflect the protein expression levels of PSMA and GLUT1.

RESULTS

PSMA expression in PAC was significantly higher than in DAC/IDC-P (141.2 vs 78.6, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in PSMA expression between DAC/IDC-P and adjacent PAC (78.6 vs 93.4, p = 0.166). GLUT1 expression was higher in DAC/IDC-P than in adjacent PAC (68.6 vs 51.3, p = 0.007), but was still lower than that in pure PAC (68.6 vs 93.1, p = 0.0014). It is worth noting that GLUT1 membrane expression in DAC/IDC-P was significantly increased than in pure PAC (13.0 vs 6.6, p = 0.025), and in PAC adjacent to DAC/IDC-P (13.0 vs 2.0, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In DAC/IDC-P tissues, PSMA expression is low, while GLUT1 expression, especially GLUT1 membrane expression is high. These findings imply that DAC/IDC-P may have higher glucose metabolic and raise interest in targeting membrane GLUT1 as a novel anticancer strategy for DAC/IDC-P and other prostate cancer with high glucose metabolism.

The future of patient-derived xenografts in prostate cancer research

Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) are generated by engrafting human tumours into mice. Serially transplantable PDXs are used to study tumour biology and test therapeutics, linking the laboratory to the clinic. Although few prostate cancer PDXs are available in large repositories, over 330 prostate cancer PDXs have been established, spanning broad clinical stages, genotypes and phenotypes. Nevertheless, more PDXs are needed to reflect patient diversity, and to study new treatments and emerging mechanisms of resistance. We can maximize the use of PDXs by exchanging models and datasets, and by depositing PDXs into biorepositories, but we must address the impediments to accessing PDXs, such as institutional, ethical and legal agreements. Through collaboration, researchers will gain greater access to PDXs representing diverse features of prostate cancer.

Using PSMA imaging for prognostication in localized and advanced prostate cancer

The use of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-directed applications in modern prostate cancer management has evolved rapidly over the past few years, helping to establish new treatment pathways and provide further insights into prostate cancer biology. However, the prognostic implications of PSMA-PET have not been studied systematically, owing to rapid clinical implementation without long follow-up periods to determine intermediate-term and long-term oncological outcomes. Currently available data suggest that traditional prognostic factors and survival outcomes are associated with high PSMA expression (both according to immunohistochemistry and PET uptake) in men with localized and biochemically recurrent disease. Treatment with curative intent (primary and/or salvage) often fails when PSMA-positive metastases are present; however, the sensitivity of PSMA-PET in detecting all metastases is poor. Low PSMA-PET uptake in recurrent disease is a favourable prognostic factor; however, it can be associated with poor prognosis in conjunction with high ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Clinical trials embedding PSMA-PET for guiding management with reliable oncological outcomes are needed to support ongoing clinical use.

Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) score in aggressive prostatic adenocarcinoma with or without intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P)

BACKGROUND

Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P) is a subtype of prostate cancer featured by poor prognosis. Previous studies suggested IDC-P could have a potentially unstable genome. Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) score is a result-oriented method to describe the genomic instability status. This study investigates the association of HRD scores with IDC-P and other clinicopathological factors and the prognostic implication of HRD scores in an aggressive prostate cancer cohort.

METHODS

This study involved 123 PCa patients, including high-risk localized (M0) and de novo metastatic (M1) diseases. HRD score is calculated based on over 10,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms distributed across the human genome. We explored the association between HRD scores and clinicopathological characteristics, genomic alterations, and patients' prognoses using rank-sum tests, chi-square tests, Kaplan-Meier curves, and Cox proportional hazards method.

RESULTS

The median HRD score of this cohort is 21.0, with 65 (52.8%) patients showing HRD score≥21. Tumors with IDC-P displayed higher HRD scores than adenocarcinoma (P=0.002); other high HRD score-related factors included M1 (P =0.008) and high ISUP grades (4-5) (P=0.001). MYC mutations were associated with high HRD scores (P<0.001) in the total cohort. TP53 mutations (P=0.010) and HRR pathway mutations (P=0.028) corresponded to high HRD scores in IDC-P positive and non-IDC-P patients, respectively, but not vice versa. HRD scores higher than 21 indicated significantly worse survival in the total cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

M1, high Gleason score, and IDC-P pathology represent higher HRD scores in PCa. Tumors with IDC-P might have different driven mechanisms for high HRD scores than non-IDC-P. HRD score displayed prognostic value in this aggressive prostate cancer cohort.

Management of Patients with Advanced Prostate Cancer: Report from the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference 2021

BACKGROUND

Innovations in treatments, imaging, and molecular characterisation in advanced prostate cancer have improved outcomes, but various areas of management still lack high-level evidence to inform clinical practice. The 2021 Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC) addressed some of these questions to supplement guidelines that are based on level 1 evidence.

OBJECTIVE

To present the voting results from APCCC 2021.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

The experts identified three major areas of controversy related to management of advanced prostate cancer: newly diagnosed metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), the use of prostate-specific membrane antigen ligands in diagnostics and therapy, and molecular characterisation of tissue and blood. A panel of 86 international prostate cancer experts developed the programme and the consensus questions.

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The panel voted publicly but anonymously on 107 pre-defined questions, which were developed by both voting and non-voting panel members prior to the conference following a modified Delphi process.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

The voting reflected the opinions of panellists and did not incorporate a standard literature review or formal meta-analysis. The answer options for the consensus questions received varying degrees of support from panellists, as reflected in this article and the detailed voting results reported in the Supplementary material.

CONCLUSIONS

These voting results from a panel of experts in advanced prostate cancer can help clinicians and patients to navigate controversial areas of management for which high-level evidence is scant. However, diagnostic and treatment decisions should always be individualised according to patient characteristics, such as the extent and location of disease, prior treatment(s), comorbidities, patient preferences, and treatment recommendations, and should also incorporate current and emerging clinical evidence and logistic and economic constraints. Enrolment in clinical trials should be strongly encouraged. Importantly, APCCC 2021 once again identified salient questions that merit evaluation in specifically designed trials.

PATIENT SUMMARY

The Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference is a forum for discussing current diagnosis and treatment options for patients with advanced prostate cancer. An expert panel votes on predefined questions focused on the most clinically relevant areas for treatment of advanced prostate cancer for which there are gaps in knowledge. The voting results provide a practical guide to help clinicians in discussing treatment options with patients as part of shared decision-making.

Radiomic Machine Learning and External Validation Based on 3.0 T mpMRI for Prediction of Intraductal Carcinoma of Prostate With Different Proportion

Purpose

To assess the association of radiomics features based on multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) with the proportion of intraductal carcinoma of prostate (IDC-P) and validate the predictive models.

Materials and Methods

We retrospectively included pre-treatment MR images of prostate cancer (PCa) with IDC components of high proportion (≥10%, hpIDC-P), low proportion (<10%, lpIDC-P), and pure acinar adenocarcinoma (PAC) from our institution for training and internal validation and cooperated cohort for external validation. Normalized images of T2WI, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map, and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) sequences were used for radiomics modeling. The clinical model was built based on serum total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) and Gleason score (GS), and the integrated model was the combination of Rad-score and clinicopathological data. The discrimination ability was assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC) in the internal and external validation sets and compared by DeLong test.

Results

Overall, 97 patients with hpIDC-P, 87 lpIDC-P, and 78 PAC were included for training and internal validation, and 11, 16, and 19 patients for external validation. The integrated model for predicting hpIDC-P got the best ROC-AUC of 0.88 (95%CI = 0.83-0.93) in internal and 0.86 (95%CI = 0.72-1.0) in external validation, which both outperformed clinical models (AUC=0.78, 95% CI = 0.72-0.85, AUC=0.69, 95% CI = 0.5-0.85, respectively) based solely on GS, and the radiomics model (AUC=0.85, 95% CI = 0.79-0.91) was slightly inferior to the integrated model and better than the clinical model in internal dataset. The integrated model for predicting lpIDC-P outperformed both radiomics and clinical models in the internal dataset, while slightly inferior to the integrated model for predicting hpIDC-P.

Conclusions

Radiomics signature improved differentiation of both hpIDC-P and lpIDC-P versus PAC when compared with the clinical model based on Gleason score, and was validated in an external cohort.

Modeling prostate cancer: What does it take to build an ideal tumor model?

Prostate cancer is frequently characterized as a multifocal disease with great intratumoral heterogeneity as well as a high propensity to metastasize to bone. Consequently, modeling prostate tumor has remained a challenging task for researchers in this field. In the past decades, genomic advances have led to the identification of key molecular alterations in prostate cancer. Moreover, resistance towards second-generation androgen-deprivation therapy, namely abiraterone and enzalutamide has unveiled androgen receptor-independent diseases with distinctive histopathological and clinical features. In this review, we have critically evaluated the commonly used preclinical models of prostate cancer with respect to their capability of recapitulating the key genomic alterations, histopathological features and bone metastatic potential of human prostate tumors. In addition, we have also discussed the potential use of the emerging organoid models in prostate cancer research, which possess clear advantages over the commonly used preclinical tumor models. We anticipate that no single model can faithfully recapitulate the complexity of prostate cancer, and thus, propose the use of a cost- and time-efficient integrated tumor modeling approach for future prostate cancer investigations.

Long-term first-in-man Phase I/II study of an adjuvant dendritic cell vaccine in patients with high-risk prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy

BACKGROUND

Patients with high-risk prostate cancer (PC) can experience biochemical relapse (BCR), despite surgery, and develop noncurative disease. The present study aimed to reduce the risk of BCR with a personalized dendritic cell (DC) vaccine, given as adjuvant therapy, after robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP).

METHODS

Twelve weeks after RALP, 20 patients with high-risk PC and undetectable PSA received DC vaccinations for 3 years or until BCR. The primary endpoint was the time to BCR. The immune response was assessed 7 weeks after surgery (baseline) and at one-time point during the vaccination period.

RESULTS

Among 20 patients, 11 were BCR-free over a median of 96 months (range: 84-99). The median time from the end of vaccinations to the last follow-up was 57 months (range: 45-60). Nine patients developed BCR, either during (n = 4) or after (n = 5) the vaccination period. Among five patients diagnosed with intraductal carcinoma, three experienced early BCR during the vaccination period. All patients that developed BCR remained in stable disease within a median of 99 months (range: 74-99). The baseline immune response was significantly associated with the immune response during the vaccination period (p = 0.015). For patients diagnosed with extraprostatic extension (EPE), time to BCR was longer in vaccine responders than in non-responders (p = 0.09). Among 12 patients with the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade 5 PC, five achieved remission after 84 months, and all mounted immune responses.

CONCLUSION

Patients diagnosed with EPE and ISUP grade 5 PC were at particularly high risk of developing postsurgical BCR. In this subgroup, the vaccine response was related to a reduced BCR incidence. The vaccine was safe, without side effects. This adjuvant first-in-man Phase I/II DC vaccine study showed promising results. DC vaccines after curative surgery should be investigated further in a larger cohort of patients with high-risk PC.

Crystal-reconstructed BiVO4 semiconductor photoelectrochemical sensor for ultra-sensitive tumor biomarker detection

In this study, we developed a crystal-reconstructed-BiVO₄ aptamer photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor by a high-energy laser treatment technique. This biosensor achieves a limit of detection (LOD) (0.82 ag mL^-1), linear detection range (1 ag mL^-1 to 2 ng mL^-1), and resolution ratio (∼18 molecules per mL) for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tumor biomarker detection. Furthermore, reconstructed surface microstructure and oxygen vacancy doping energy formation after crystal reconstruction induce the stereo-hindrance effect and photogenerated hole energy is reduced during PSA target detection. In this case, a photocurrent inhibition phenomenon for PSA detection is noticed. Based on this photocurrent inversion phenomenon, some dysoxidizable nucleonic acid tumor (miRNA-21) and virus biomarkers (RdRp-COVID) can be detected with a LOD level of ∼10^-16 M by linking the corresponding base paring probe on the surface of the crystal-reconstructed photoanode. In addition to high sensitivity, this PEC biosensor presents high detection specificity, stability, and accuracy in clinical verification. Thus, this crystal-reconstructed PEC biosensor shows application potential in the fields of multi-tumor or viral biomarker detection.

Hidden clues in prostate cancer - Lessons learned from clinical and pre-clinical approaches on diagnosis and risk stratification

The heterogeneity of prostate cancer is evident at clinical, morphological and molecular levels. To aid clinical decision making, a three-tiered system for risk stratification is used to designate low-, intermediate-, and high-risk of disease progression. Intermediate-risk prostate cancers are the most frequently diagnosed, and even with common diagnostic features, can exhibit vastly different clinical progression. Thus, improved risk stratification methods are needed to better predict patient outcomes. Here, we provide an overview of the improvements in diagnosis/prognosis arising from advances in pathology reporting of prostate cancer, which can improve risk stratification, especially for patients with intermediate-risk disease. This review discusses updates to pathology reporting of morphological growth patterns, and proposes the utility of integrating prognostic biomarkers or innovative imaging techniques to enhance clinical decision-making. To complement clinical studies, experimental approaches using patient-derived tumors have highlighted important cellular and morphological features associated with aggressive disease that may impact treatment response. The intersection of urology, pathology and scientific disciplines is required to work towards a common goal of understanding disease pathogenesis, improving the stratification of patients with intermediate-risk disease and subsequently defining optimal treatment strategies using precision-based approaches.

Genomic Features and Clinical Implications of Intraductal Carcinoma of the Prostate

Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P) is a rare and unique form of aggressive prostate carcinoma, which is characterized by an expansile proliferation of malignant prostatic epithelial cells within prostatic ducts or acini and the preservation of basal cell layers around the involved glands. The vast majority of IDC-P tumors result from adjacent high-grade invasive cancer via the retrograde spreading of tumor cells into normal prostatic ducts or acini. A subset of IDC-P tumors is rarely derived from the de novo intraductal proliferation of premalignant cells. The presence of IDC-P in biopsy or surgical specimens is significantly associated with aggressive pathologic features, such as high Gleason grade, large tumor volume, and advanced tumor stage, and with poor clinical courses, including earlier biochemical recurrence, distant metastasis, and worse survival outcomes. These architectural and behavioral features of IDC-P may be driven by specific molecular properties. Notably, IDC-P possesses distinct genomic profiles, including higher rates of TMPRSS2–ERG gene fusions and PTEN loss, increased percentage of genomic instability, and higher prevalence of germline BRCA2 mutations. Considering that IDC-P tumors are usually resistant to conventional therapies for prostate cancer, further studies should be performed to develop optimal therapeutic strategies based on distinct genomic features, such as treatment with immune checkpoint blockades or poly (adenosine diphosphate–ribose) polymerase inhibitors for patients harboring increased genomic instability or BRCA2 mutations, as well as genetic counseling with genetic testing. Patient-derived xenografts and tumor organoid models can be the promising in vitro platforms for investigating the molecular features of IDC-P tumor.

Current Understanding and Management of Intraductal Carcinoma of the Prostate

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review will discuss current understanding and management approaches of Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P). IDC-P is a histological finding characterized by neoplastic cells that expand but do not invade prostate ducts.

RECENT FINDINGS

The presence of IDC-P on a prostate biopsy is almost always associated with an invasive disease component and is independently associated with worse clinical outcomes in both early and late disease. These tumors are enriched for mutations in homologous DNA recombination repair (HRR) leading to high genomic instability. Multiparametric MRI with targeted biopsy may aid in diagnosis. Given the poor clinical outcomes associated with this histologic entity, its presence in biopsies should warrant consideration of aggressive management.

Intraductal Carcinoma of the Prostate: A Guide for the Practicing Pathologist

Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate gland (IDCP) is characterized by an expansile, architecturally, and cytologically atypical proliferation of prostatic epithelial cells within preexisting prostatic ducts and acini. There has been a wider recognition of IDCP by practicing pathologists since its recognition as a separate category in the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 classification of tumours of the prostate gland. However, there is also a lack of clarity regarding the diagnosis and reporting of IDCP, which has been compounded by divergent expert recommendations regarding the grading of invasive prostate cancers associated with an intraductal component. The International Society of Urological Pathologists (ISUP) recommends that the IDCP component should be incorporated into the Gleason score, while the Genitourinary Pathology Society (GUPS) recommends excluding it when grading prostate cancer. This review seeks to clarify some of these issues and outline a pragmatic approach to reporting IDCP, particularly in needle biopsies. Diagnostic issues and terminology for lesions falling short of IDCP but exceeding that of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia are discussed. The management of patients whose prostate biopsies show only IDCP without an associated invasive component is controversial. Some experts recommend radical therapy, while others recommend prompt repeat biopsy. An alternative clinicopathologic approach that takes into consideration the extent, histomorphology, and location (with respect to a radiologic abnormality) of IDCP, as well as radiologic features, is outlined.

High-Throughput Imaging Assay for Drug Screening of 3D Prostate Cancer Organoids

New treatments are required for advanced prostate cancer; however, there are fewer preclinical models of prostate cancer than other common tumor types to test candidate therapeutics. One opportunity to increase the scope of preclinical studies is to grow tissue from patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) as organoid cultures. Here we report a scalable pipeline for automated seeding, treatment and an analysis of the drug responses of prostate cancer organoids. We established organoid cultures from 5 PDXs with diverse phenotypes of prostate cancer, including castrate-sensitive and castrate-resistant disease, as well as adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine pathology. We robotically embedded organoids in Matrigel in 384-well plates and monitored growth via brightfield microscopy before treatment with poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors or a compound library. Independent readouts including metabolic activity and live-cell imaging–based features provided robust measures of organoid growth and complementary ways of assessing drug efficacy. Single organoid analyses enabled in-depth assessment of morphological differences between patients and within organoid populations and revealed that larger organoids had more striking changes in morphology and composition after drug treatment. By increasing the scale and scope of organoid experiments, this automated assay complements other patient-derived models and will expedite preclinical testing of new treatments for prostate cancer.

A Systematic Review of Prostate Cancer Heterogeneity: Understanding the Clonal Ancestry of Multifocal Disease

CONTEXT

Studies characterising genomic changes in prostate cancer (PCa) during natural progression have greatly increased our understanding of the disease. A better understanding of the evolutionary history of PCa would allow advances in diagnostics, prognostication, and novel therapies that together will improve patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

To review the molecular heterogeneity of PCa and assess recent efforts to profile intratumoural heterogeneity and clonal evolution.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

We screened a total of 1313 abstracts from PubMed published between 2009 and 2020, of which we reviewed 84 full-text articles. We excluded 49, resulting in 35 studies for qualitative analysis.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

In studies of primary disease (16 studies, 4793 specimens), there is a lack of consensus regarding the monoclonal or polyclonal origin of primary PCa. There is no consistent mutation giving rise to primary PCa. Detailed clonal analysis of primary PCa has been limited by current techniques. By contrast, clonal relationships between PCa metastases and a potentiating clone have been consistently identified (19 studies, 732 specimens). Metastatic specimens demonstrate consistent truncal genomic aberrations that suggest monoclonal metastatic progenitors.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between the clonal dynamics of PCa and clinical outcomes needs further investigation. It is likely that this will provide a biological rationale for whether radical treatment of the primary tumour benefits patients with oligometastatic PCa. Future studies on the mutational burden in primary disease at single-cell resolution should permit the identification of clonal patterns underpinning the origin of lethal PCa.

PATIENT SUMMARY

Prostate cancers arise in different parts of the prostate because of DNA mutations that occur by chance at different times. These cancer cells and their origin can be tracked by DNA mapping. In this review we summarise the state of the art and outline what further science is needed to provide the missing answers.

First case of ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate with MAP3K1 homozygous deletion

INTRODUCTION

Ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate is a rare prostate cancer variant and associated with higher stage and greater risk of mortality. Optimal systemic therapy for metastatic ductal adenocarcinoma is not known.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 67-year-old man presented with ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate accompanied by multiple lung metastases and advanced bone metastases. We performed channel transurethral resection of the prostate and confirmed the diagnosis of ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate. DNA sequencing identified a TP53 somatic point mutation (p.Gly245Ser) as the pathogenic variant. Furthermore, a homozygous deletion was observed in mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1. The patient received enzalutamide but deceased 5 months after presenting to our institution.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the first report of ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate with a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 homozygous deletion. Accumulation of whole-exome sequencing data is expected to inform future advances in therapy development.

Ductal variant prostate carcinoma is associated with a significantly shorter metastasis-free survival

BACKGROUND

Ductal adenocarcinoma is an uncommon prostate cancer variant. Previous studies suggest that ductal variant histology may be associated with worse clinical outcomes, but these are difficult to interpret. To address this, we performed an international, multi-institutional study to describe the characteristics of ductal adenocarcinoma, particularly focussing on the effect of presence of ductal variant cancer on metastasis-free survival.

METHODS

Patients with ductal variant histology from two institutional databases who underwent radical prostatectomies were identified and compared with an independent acinar adenocarcinoma cohort. After propensity score matching, the effect of the presence of ductal adenocarcinoma on time to biochemical recurrence, initiation of salvage therapy and the development of metastatic disease was determined. Deep whole-exome sequencing was performed for selected cases (n = 8).

RESULTS

A total of 202 ductal adenocarcinoma and 2037 acinar adenocarcinoma cases were analysed. Survival analysis after matching demonstrated that patients with ductal variant histology had shorter salvage-free survival (8.1 versus 22.0 months, p = 0.03) and metastasis-free survival (6.7 versus 78.6 months, p < 0.0001). Ductal variant histology was consistently associated with RB1 loss, as well as copy number gains in TAP1, SLC4A2 and EHHADH.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of any ductal variant adenocarcinoma at the time of prostatectomy portends a worse clinical outcome than pure acinar cancers, with significantly shorter times to initiation of salvage therapies and the onset of metastatic disease. These features appear to be driven by uncoupling of chromosomal duplication from cell division, resulting in widespread copy number aberration with specific gain of genes implicated in treatment resistance.

Optimizing the diagnosis and management of ductal prostate cancer

Ductal adenocarcinoma (DAC) is the most common variant histological subtype of prostate carcinoma and has an aggressive clinical course. DAC is usually characterized and treated as high-risk prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma (PAC). However, DAC has a different biology to that of acinar disease, which often poses a challenge for both diagnosis and management. DAC can be difficult to identify using conventional diagnostic modalities such as serum PSA levels and multiparametric MRI, and the optimal management for localized DAC is unknown owing to the rarity of the disease. Following definitive therapy for localized disease with radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy, the majority of DACs recur with visceral metastases at low PSA levels. Various systemic therapies that have been shown to be effective in high-risk PAC have limited use in treating DAC. Although current understanding of the biology of DAC is limited, genomic analyses have provided insights into the pathology behind its aggressive behaviour and potential future therapeutic targets.

Androgen receptor enhancer amplification in matched patient-derived xenografts of primary and castrate-resistant prostate cancer

Amplifications of the androgen receptor (AR) occur in up to 80% of men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Recent studies highlighted that these amplifications not only span the AR gene but usually encompass a distal enhancer. This represents a newly recognised, non-coding mechanism of resistance to AR-directed therapies, including enzalutamide. To study disease progression before and after AR amplification, we used tumour samples from a castrate-sensitive primary tumour and castrate-resistant metastasis of the same patient. For subsequent functional and genomic studies, we established serially transplantable patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). Whole genome sequencing showed that alterations associated with poor prognosis, such as TP53 and PTEN loss, existed before androgen deprivation therapy, followed by co-amplification of the AR gene and enhancer after the development of metastatic CRPC. The PDX of the primary tumour, without the AR amplification, was sensitive to AR-directed treatments, including castration, enzalutamide, and apalutamide. The PDX of the metastasis, with the AR amplification, had higher AR and AR-V7 expression in castrate conditions, and was resistant to castration, apalutamide, and enzalutamide in vivo. Treatment with a BET inhibitor outperformed the AR-directed therapies for the metastasis, resulting in tumour regression for some, but not all, grafts. Therefore, this study provides novel matched PDXs to test potential treatments that target the overabundance of AR in tumours with AR enhancer amplifications. © 2021 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PDX: Moving Beyond Drug Screening to Versatile Models for Research Discovery

Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) are tools of the trade for many researchers from all disciplines and medical specialties. Most endocrinologists, and especially those working in oncology, commonly use PDXs for preclinical drug testing and development, and over the last decade large collections of PDXs have emerged across all tumor streams. In this review, we examine how the field has evolved to include PDXs as versatile resources for research discoveries, providing evidence for guidelines and changes in clinical practice.