Aggressive prostate cancer subtype more common than expected

A new study has shown that nearly one-fifth of men with metastatic prostate cancer whose tumors were resistant to hormone therapy subsequently developed an aggressive prostate cancer subtype. Men with this subtype, called treatment-emergent small-cell neuroendocrine prostate cancer (t-SCNC), appear to have shorter survival than men with other subtypes. The researchers also found genetic differences between t-SCNC and the adenocarcinoma subtype, which accounts for most prostate cancers at diagnosis. Taking advantage of these unique features may improve the diagnosis and treatment of t-SCNC, said lead investigator Rahul Aggarwal, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco.

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