Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (case report)

Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (case report)

T.V. Ustinova, P.V. Plukchi, L.V. Bolotina

P.A. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute — Branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Centre, Moscow 

De novo neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is one of the rarest variants of malignant prostatic neoplasms, accounting for less than 1% of all cases. Patients with NEPC have the poorest prognosis among prostatic malignancies: the disease is characterized by an aggressive clinical course, a high rate of progression, a significant tendency to early and widespread metastatic dissemination, involvement of visceral organs and lymph nodes, and lytic bone lesions. At present, there are no well-established, evidence-based clinical guidelines for the patient management with this entity. Most contemporary studies aimed at identifying optimal treatment tactics are at an early stage of development and include a limited number of patients in their respective comparison groups. In the majority of cases, the treatment of NEPC follows approaches used for neuroendocrine malignancies of other primary sites, such as small-cell lung cancer. Nevertheless, most patients die within the first two years after diagnosis, irrespective of the therapy administered. The ongoing search for novel biomarkers expressed by NEPC is expanding the spectrum of potential therapeutic targets and offering new opportunities for the treatment of this disease. The present article reports a clinical case of the management of a patient with small-cell carcinoma of the prostate.

Keywords: neuroendocrine prostate cancer, etoposide, carboplatin, docetaxel.

For citation: Ustinova T.V., Plukchi P.V., Bolotina L.V. Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (case report). RMJ. 2025;10:56–60. DOI: 10.32364/2225-2282-2025-10-9