Proposed Morphologic Classification of Prostate Cancer With Neuroendocrine Differentiation

On July 31, 2013, the Prostate Cancer Foundation assembled a working committee on the molecular biology and pathologic classification of neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation in prostate cancer. New clinical and molecular data emerging from prostate cancers treated by contemporary androgen deprivation therapies, as well as primary lesions, have highlighted the need for refinement of diagnostic terminology to encompass the full spectrum of NE differentiation. The classification system consists of: Usual prostate adenocarcinoma with NE differentiation; 2) Adenocarcinoma with Paneth cell NE differentiation; 3) Carcinoid tumor; 4) Small cell carcinoma; 5) Large cell NE carcinoma; and 5) Mixed NE carcinoma - acinar adenocarcinoma. The article also highlights prostate carcinoma with overlapping features of small cell carcinoma and acinar adenocarcinoma and castrate-resistant prostate cancer with small cell cancer-like clinical presentation. It is envisioned that specific criteria associated with the refined diagnostic terminology will lead to clinically relevant pathologic diagnoses that will stimulate further clinical and molecular investigation and identification of appropriate targeted therapies.