Objective: To study the clinical features and prognosis of neuroendocrine differentiated prostate adenocarcinoma (NED/AdPC).
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data on 23 cases of NED/AdPC treated between 2005 and 2018, among which, 18 had lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).
Results: All the 23 patients were diagnosed with NED/AdPC, including 2 cases of AdPC initially diagnosed and confirmed with neuroendocrine differentiation in a second pathological diagnosis after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). In addition to hormonal therapy for all the cases, 3 of the patients were treated by radical prostatectomy combined with adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy, 13 by palliative transurethral bipolar plasmakinetic resection of the prostate (pTU-PKRP), of whom 2 underwent a second pTU-PKRP and chemotherapy for castration resistance, 2 with chronic renal insufficiency by percutaneous nephrostomy because of extensive pelvic metastasis, and the other 5 by ADT alone or in combination with radiotherapy. During the follow-up of 7 to 60 months, 2 of the patients died of cancer progression and 1 of pulmonary infection, while the others survived with effective control of the tumor.
Conclusions: Long-term ADT may induce neuroendocrine differentiation in AdPC patients. For early-stage NED/AdPC, radical prostatectomy combined with adjuvant therapy is a main therapeutic option, while for advanced NED/AdPC, pTU-PKRP in combination with ADT may relieve LUTS and improve the patients' quality of life.
Keywords: neuroendocrine differentiation; quality of life; therapy; prostate adenocarcinoma.