Telomere lengths differ significantly between small-cell neuroendocrine prostate carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the prostate

Christopher M. Heaphy, Michael C. Haffner, Mindy K. Graham, David Lim, Christine Davis, Eva Corey, Jonathan I. Epstein, Mario A. Eisenberger, Hao Wang, Angelo M. De Marzo, Alan K. Meeker, Tamara L. Lotan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SCNC) of the prostate is an aggressive subtype with frequent TP53 mutation and RB1 inactivation; however, the molecular phenotype remains an area of investigation. Here, we compared telomere lengths in prostatic SCNC and usual-type prostatic adenocarcinoma (AdCa). We studied 32 cases of prostatic SCNC (including 11 cases with concurrent AdCa) and 347 cases of usual-type AdCa on tissue microarrays. Telomere lengths in tumor cells were qualitatively compared with those in normal cells using a telomere-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization assay. ERG, PTEN, and TP53 status were assessed in a proportion of cases using genetically validated immunohistochemistry protocols. Clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of cases were compared between the telomere groups using the chi-square test.A significantly higher proportion of prostatic SCNC cases (50%, 16/32) showed normal/long telomeres compared with AdCa cases (11%, 39/347; P < 0.0001). In 82% (9/11) of cases with concurrent SCNC and AdCa, the paired components were concordant for telomere length status. Among AdCa cases, the proportion of cases with normal/long telomeres significantly increased with increasing tumor grade group (P = 0.01) and pathologic stage (P = 0.02). Cases with normal/long telomeres were more likely to be ERG positive (P = 0.04) and to have TP53 missense mutation (P = 0.01) than cases with short telomeres.Normal or long telomere lengths are significantly more common in prostatic SCNC than in AdCa and are similar between concurrent SCNC and AdCa tumors, supporting a common origin. Among AdCa cases, longer telomere lengths are significantly associated with high-risk pathologic and molecular features.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)70-79
Number of pages10
JournalHuman pathology
Volume101
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2020

Keywords

  • Adenocarcinoma
  • Neuroendocrine
  • Prostate cancer
  • Small-cell carcinoma
  • Telomeres

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine

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