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New Perspectives in Prostate Cancer: From Pathophysiology to Novel Therapies

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2024) | Viewed by 5227

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
St Luke’s Cancer Centre, Royal Surrey Hospital, Guildford GU1 1EB, UK
Interests: cancer genetics; biomarkers; SABR; brachytherapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, King’s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK
2. Medway NHS Foundation Trust, Windmill Road, Gillingham ME7 5NY, Kent, UK
3. Kent Medway Medical School, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7LX, Kent, UK
4. AELIA Organization, 9(th)Km Thessaloniki-Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: prostate cancer; renal cancer; ovarian cancer; homologous recombination of DNA; PARP inhibitors; cervical cancer; carcinoma of unknown primary; colorectal cancer; cancer and autoimmune diseases; biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Prostate cancer (PCa) poses a significant global health challenge, with approximately nearly 1.4 million new cases and 375,000 deaths worldwide annually. The rates of occurrence range from 6.3 to 83.4 per 100,000 men. In 2020, PCa ranked as the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men.

The heterogeneity of PCa, influenced by various factors such as androgen receptor status, gene expression, and growth patterns, plays a crucial role in determining the appropriate approach to managing the disease. These factors guide the decisions between active surveillance for less aggressive forms, curative treatments like prostatectomy or radiotherapy for localized disease, or systemic therapy for advanced cancer.

Nuclear medicine techniques have gained significant importance in the assessment and treatment of PCa. These techniques offer comprehensive evaluations of tumor burden throughout the body, enabling the differentiation between patients with limited metastatic disease and those with extensive disease. In recent times, researchers have developed several nomograms that combine clinical and imaging biomarkers. These nomograms serve various purposes, such as diagnosis, prognosis, prediction, and risk stratification. However, validating their clinical utility requires a substantial amount of data. Radiomics and artificial intelligence (AI) present further opportunities in this field. They hold the potential to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of data analysis by leveraging vast amounts of information. This can lead to a deeper understanding of the molecular environment of PCa, the refinement of personalized treatment strategies, and improved predictive capabilities for patient outcomes.

In this Special Issue, we aim to highlight the latest innovations in diagnostics and personalised treatment approaches in prostate cancer, novel therapies with radioligants and DNA repair pathway targeted agents.

Dr. Christos Mikropoulos
Prof. Dr. Stergios Boussios
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • artificial intelligence
  • nuclear medicine
  • genomics
  • personalized treatment

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 2428 KiB  
Article
Combination of Blood Adiponectin and Leptin Levels Is a Predictor of Biochemical Recurrence in Prostate Cancer Invading the Surrounding Adipose Tissue
by Atsuto Suzuki, Shinya Sato, Noboru Nakaigawa, Takeshi Kishida and Yohei Miyagi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(16), 8970; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25168970 - 17 Aug 2024
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Abstract
Biochemical recurrence is a process that progresses to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and prediction of biochemical recurrence is useful in determining early therapeutic intervention and disease treatment. Prostate cancer is surrounded by adipose tissue, which secretes adipokines, affecting cancer progression. This study aimed [...] Read more.
Biochemical recurrence is a process that progresses to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and prediction of biochemical recurrence is useful in determining early therapeutic intervention and disease treatment. Prostate cancer is surrounded by adipose tissue, which secretes adipokines, affecting cancer progression. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between blood adipokines and CRPC biochemical recurrence. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data, including preoperative serum adipokine levels, of 99 patients with pT3a pN0 prostate cancer who underwent proctectomy between 2011 and 2019. The primary outcome was biochemical recurrence (prostate-specific antigen: PSA > 0.2). We identified 65 non-recurrences and 34 biochemical recurrences (one progressed to CRPC). The initial PSA level was significantly higher (p = 0.006), but serum adiponectin (p = 0.328) and leptin (p = 0.647) levels and their ratio (p = 0.323) were not significantly different in the biochemical recurrence group compared with the non-recurrence group. In contrast, significantly more biochemical recurrences were observed in the group with adiponectin < 6 μg/mL and Leptin < 4 ng/mL (p = 0.046), initial PSA > 15 ng/mL, clinical Gleason pattern ≥ 4, and positive resection margin. A significant difference was also observed in the multivariate analysis (hazard ratio: 4.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.21–13.5, p = 0.0232). Thus, low preoperative serum adiponectin and high leptin levels were significantly associated with biochemical recurrence in adipose tissue-invasive prostate cancer, suggesting that they may be useful predictors of biochemical recurrence. Further studies with larger cases are needed to increase the validity of this study. Full article
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18 pages, 3542 KiB  
Article
A Step Forward for the Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer Using Gold Nanoparticles Combined with Laser Irradiation
by Sara Pinho, Tânia Ferreira-Gonçalves, Joana Lopes, Mariana Neves Amaral, Ana S. Viana, João M. P. Coelho, Maria Manuela Gaspar and Catarina Pinto Reis
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(8), 4488; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084488 - 19 Apr 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1524
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PCA) is the second most common cancer diagnosis in men and the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. The conventional treatments available are beneficial to only a few patients and, in those, some present adverse side effects that eventually affect the [...] Read more.
Prostate cancer (PCA) is the second most common cancer diagnosis in men and the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. The conventional treatments available are beneficial to only a few patients and, in those, some present adverse side effects that eventually affect the quality of life of most patients. Thus, there is an urgent need for effective, less invasive and targeted specific treatments for PCA. Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a minimally invasive therapy that provides a localized effect for tumour cell ablation by activating photothermal agents (PTA) that mediate the conversion of the light beam’s energy into heat at the site. As tumours are unable to easily dissipate heat, they become more susceptible to temperature increases. In the PTT field, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been attracting interest as PTA. The aim of this study was to formulate AuNPs capable of remaining retained in the tumour and subsequently generating heat at the tumour site. AuNPs were synthesized and characterized in terms of size, polydispersity index (PdI), zeta potential (ZP), morphology and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The safety of AuNPs and their efficacy were assessed using in vitro models. A preliminary in vivo safety assessment of AuNPs with a mean size lower than 200 nm was confirmed. The morphology was spherical-like and the SPR band showed good absorbance at the laser wavelength. Without laser, AuNPs proved to be safe both in vitro (>70% viability) and in vivo. In addition, with laser irradiation, they proved to be relatively effective in PCA cells. Overall, the formulation appears to be promising for use in PTT. Full article
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Review

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21 pages, 3818 KiB  
Review
Prostate Cancer and the Mevalonate Pathway
by Patricia Guerrero-Ochoa, Sergio Rodríguez-Zapater, Alberto Anel, Luis Mariano Esteban, Alejandro Camón-Fernández, Raquel Espilez-Ortiz, María Jesús Gil-Sanz and Ángel Borque-Fernando
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(4), 2152; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25042152 - 10 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1759
Abstract
Antineoplastic therapies for prostate cancer (PCa) have traditionally centered around the androgen receptor (AR) pathway, which has demonstrated a significant role in oncogenesis. Nevertheless, it is becoming progressively apparent that therapeutic strategies must diversify their focus due to the emergence of resistance mechanisms [...] Read more.
Antineoplastic therapies for prostate cancer (PCa) have traditionally centered around the androgen receptor (AR) pathway, which has demonstrated a significant role in oncogenesis. Nevertheless, it is becoming progressively apparent that therapeutic strategies must diversify their focus due to the emergence of resistance mechanisms that the tumor employs when subjected to monomolecular treatments. This review illustrates how the dysregulation of the lipid metabolic pathway constitutes a survival strategy adopted by tumors to evade eradication efforts. Integrating this aspect into oncological management could prove valuable in combating PCa. Full article
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