Abstract
Simple SummaryNeuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is an aggressive type of prostate cancer with a very high potential for distant metastatic spread in the body. It is associated with poor survival in comparison to the usual adenocarcinoma type of prostate cancer. Although it can arise de novo, NEPC much more commonly occurs as a mechanism of resistance during treatment for usual type prostatic adenocarcinoma, the latter is also called as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The incidence of NEPC increases after hormonal therapy and they represent a challenge, both in the radiological and pathological diagnosis, as well as in the clinical management. This article provides a comprehensive imaging review of prostatic neuroendocrine tumors.Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is an aggressive subtype of prostate cancer that typically has a high metastatic potential and poor prognosis in comparison to the adenocarcinoma subtype. Although it can arise de novo, NEPC much more commonly occurs as a mechanism of treatment resistance during therapy for conventional prostatic adenocarcinoma, the latter is also termed as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The incidence of NEPC increases after hormonal therapy and they represent a challenge, both in the radiological and pathological diagnosis, as well as in the clinical management. This article provides a comprehensive imaging review of prostatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Highlights
Prostate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous cancer in men worldwide
Our objective is to offer an overview of their radiological characteristics with radiopathologic correlations and illustrations
Neuroendocrine tumors are a heterogeneous group of malignancies originating from neuroendocrine cells, which are either embedded in endocrine organs or dispersed throughout the body
Summary
Prostate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous cancer in men worldwide. The year 2020 estimates for prostate cancer are about 191,930 new cases in the United States and 1,414,259 worldwide and it is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, behind lung cancer [1,2]. Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) represents an aggressive subtype of prostate cancer, accounting for 0.5–2% of all prostate cancers and typically has a high metastatic potential and poor prognosis [3]. The incidence of NEPCs increases after hormonal therapy and these are thought to arise from lineage plasticity induced by androgen receptor-targeted therapy [5]. They represent a challenge in the radiological and pathological diagnosis, as well as in the clinical management of the patients with limited therapies and very poor prognosis. Our objective is to offer an overview of their radiological characteristics with radiopathologic correlations and illustrations
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