US EPA

7433066 

Journal Article 

Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer 

Beg, S; Mosquera, JM; , 

2018 

323-341 

10.1007/978-3-319-64096-9_19 

http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-64096-9_19
Exit
 

Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is an androgen receptor (AR)-negative variant that most commonly arises from treated adenocarcinoma of the prostate. NEPC does not respond to AR-directed therapy and has only transient response to chemotherapy. It is estimated that up to 30% of late-stage prostate cancers harbor a predominance of neuroendocrine differentiation. However, due to a general lack of biopsy diagnoses for advanced disease, this may underrepresent the frequency of NEPC. The prognosis is poor due to late recognition, heterogeneous clinical features, and lack of effective therapy. Chemotherapy used for other small cell neuroendocrine cancers is the mainstay of treatment; however, more targeted approaches are being developed based on an emerging understanding of this aggressive form of prostate cancer. This chapter provides an in-depth overview of most recent genomic alterations of this lethal subtype of the disease.