B. Helpap et al., Neuroendocrine differentiation in prostatic carcinomas: Histogenesis, biology, clinical relevance, and future therapeutical perspectives, UROL INTERN, 62(3), 1999, pp. 133-138
Since the introduction of immunohistochemistry, there is an increasing inte
rest in neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation in prostatic carcinomas. Focal
NE-differentiation in prostatic adenocarcinomas is a very frequent finding.
It is subject of numerous studies, since a negative impact on prognosis an
d an important role in antiandrogen therapy failure are suspected. NE-diffe
rentiated small-cell carcinoma is a very rare tumor comprising 0.5-2% of al
l prostatic carcinomas. Nevertheless, although very rare, it is of clinical
importance because it is one of the most aggressive turners of the prostat
e with a very poor prognosis. This review is focused on actual concepts of
histogenesis, cell biology, clinical implications, and possible future ther
apeutic perspectives of these two tumor entities.