Models of neuroendocrine prostate cancer

Abstract

Prostate cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the USA and most western countries. Prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma is the most commonly diagnosed form of prostate cancer. Small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma is less frequently identified at the time of initial diagnosis, but this highly aggressive form of prostate cancer is increasingly observed in patients who have failed first- and second-line hormone therapy. Thus, developing and exploring models of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NePC) are of increasing importance. This review examines the relevant xenograft tumor and genetically engineered mouse models of NePC, with the aim of addressing salient features and clinical relevance.

Keywords: castration-resistant prostate cancer; genetically engineered mice; neuroendocrine prostate cancer; xenograft tumors.

Figure 1:

A) Photomicrograph of the neuroendocrine prostate tumor from which the LuCAP 49 xenograft tumor was derived (H&E, 400× magnification). Reprinted from The American Journal of Pathology, Volume 161, True LD, Buhler K, Quinn J, Williams E, Nelson PS, Clegg N, Macoska JA, Norwood T, Liu A, Ellis W, et al, A neuroendocrine/small cell prostate carcinoma xenograft-LuCaP 49, Pages 705–715, Copyright 2002 with permission from Elsevier. B) Photomicrograph of a LuCAP 49 xenograft tumor. Note that the xenograft tumor and the patient’s original prostate tumor have a similar histologic appearance consistent with NePCs (H&E, 400× magnification). Reprinted from The American Journal of Pathology, Volume 161, True LD, Buhler K, Quinn J, Williams E, Nelson PS, Clegg N, Macoska JA, Norwood T, Liu A, Ellis W, et al, A neuroendocrine/small cell prostate carcinoma xenograft-LuCaP 49, Pages 705–715, Copyright 2002 with permission from Elsevier. C) Representative image of a typical TRAMP mouse neuroendocrine prostate tumor exhibiting high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio, anisocytosis, and anisokaryosis (H&E, 400× magnification).