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REVIEW article

Front. Urol.
Sec. Male Urology
Volume 4 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fruro.2024.1487873

Intermediate risk prostate tumors contain lethal subtypes

Provisionally accepted
William L Harryman William L Harryman 1*James P Hinton James P Hinton 1Rafael Sainz Rafael Sainz 1Jaime MC Gard Jaime MC Gard 1John M Ryniawec John M Ryniawec 1Gregory C Rogers Gregory C Rogers 1,2Noel A Warfel Noel A Warfel 1,2Beatrice S Knudsen Beatrice S Knudsen 3,4Raymond B Nagle Raymond B Nagle 1Juan J Chipollini Juan J Chipollini 5Benjamin R Lee Benjamin R Lee 5Belinda L Sun Belinda L Sun 6Anne Elizabeth Cress Anne Elizabeth Cress 1,2*
  • 1 Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
  • 2 Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tuczon, Arizona, United States
  • 3 Huntsman Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
  • 4 Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
  • 5 Department of Urology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
  • 6 Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In 2024, prostate cancer (PCa) remains the most common non-skin cancer in males within the United States, with an estimated 299,010 new cases, the highest increase incident trend rate (3.8%) of all cancers, and one of the eight deadliest. PCa cases are projected to double from 1.8 million to 2.9 million per year between 2020 and 2040. According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines, most cases (65%) are intermediate risk (Gleason sum score <7 [3+4, 4+3], prostate organ-confined, and PSA ˂ 20) with treatment options limited to active surveillance, external beam radiation, and/or surgery to prevent metastasis in the long term (>10 years). It is increasingly recognized that the two most common subtypes of intermediate risk PCa are cribriform architecture (CA) and intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P), which can occur together, and both are associated with increased metastatic risk, biochemical recurrence, and disease-specific mortality. Both subtypes display hypoxia, genomic instability, and are identified as Gleason 4 in pathology reports. However, since false negatives are common (up to 50%) in these subtypes on biopsy, more research is needed to reliably detect these subtypes that have an increased risk for invasive disease. We note that even with mpMRI-guided biopsies, the sensitivity is 54% for cribriform architecture and only 37% for IDC-P. The presence of these PCa subtypes in biopsy or radical prostatectomy (RP) tissue can exclude patients from active surveillance and from designation as intermediate risk disease, further underscoring the need for increased molecular understanding of these subtypes for diagnostic purposes. Understanding the heterogeneity of intermediate risk primary PCa phenotypes, using computational pathology approaches to evaluate the fixed biopsy specimen, or video microscopy of the surgical specimen with AIdriven analysis is now achievable. New research associating the resulting phenotypes with the different therapeutic choices and vulnerabilities will likely prevent extracapsular extension, the definition of high-risk disease, and disease and upstaging of the final pathologic stage.

    Keywords: prostate cancer, cribriform, Intraductal carcinoma, Gleason grade, Intermediate risk, biomarkers

    Received: 28 Aug 2024; Accepted: 24 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Harryman, Hinton, Sainz, Gard, Ryniawec, Rogers, Warfel, Knudsen, Nagle, Chipollini, Lee, Sun and Cress. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    William L Harryman, Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
    Anne Elizabeth Cress, Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.