De novo metastatic prostate cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation: A diagnostic dilemma

Document Type : Case Report

Authors

1 Nuclear Medicine Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran

2 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

De novo metastatic prostate cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) at first presentation is extremely rare. A 65-year-old man (Gleason score 5+4, first assumed to be acinar adenocarcinoma), was referred for [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-PSMA SPECT/CT due to low back pain. The PSA levels were 8 and <0.07 ng/mL at the time of diagnosis and prior to scintigraphy respectively. The scan revealed multiple non-PSMA-avid lesions throughout the skeleton, lung and liver, suggesting the possibility of NED or 2nd malignancy.  Second-look and review of the pathology led to change of the diagnosis to mixed small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma-acinar adenocarcinoma. This case highlights the importance of PSMA imaging in suggestion of type of the tumor which as in our case, might alter the pathologic tissue diagnosis.

Keywords

Main Subjects


  1. Epstein JI, Amin MB, Beltran H, Lotan TL, Mosquera JM, Reuter VE, Robinson BD, Troncoso P, Rubin MA. Proposed morphologic classification of prostate cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation. Am J Surg Pathol. 2014 Jun;38(6):756-67.
  2. Acosta-Gonzalez G, Qin J, Wieczorek R, Melamed J, Deng FM, Zhou M, Makarov D, Ye F, Pei Z, Pincus MR, Lee P. De novo large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate, case report and literature review. Am J Clin Exp Urol. 2014 Dec;2(4):337-42.
  3. Kránitz N, Szepesváry Z, Kocsis K, Kullmann T. Neuroendocrine cancer of the prostate. Pathol Oncol Res. 2020 Jul;26(3):1447-50.
  4. Papagoras C, Arelaki S, Botis I, Chrysafis I, Giannopoulos S, Skendros P. Co-occurrence of dermatomyositis and polycythemia unveiling rare de Novo neuroendocrine prostate tumor. Front Oncol. 2018 Nov ;8:534.
  5. Jochumsen MR, Sahlholdt BA, Jensen JB. Ileus as First Sign of De Novo Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer. Int Arch Urol Complic. 2017 Feb;3:021.
  6. Aggarwal R, Zhang T, Small EJ, Armstrong AJ. Neuroendocrine prostate cancer: subtypes, biology, and clinical outcomes. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2014 May ;12(5):719-26.
  7. Marcus DM, Goodman M, Jani AB, Osunkoya AO, Rossi PJ. A comprehensive review of incidence and survival in patients with rare histological variants of prostate cancer in the United States from 1973 to 2008. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2012 Sep;15(3):283-8.
  8. Giovacchini G, Giovannini E, Riondato M, Ciarmiello A. Radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and therapy of neuroendocrine differentiated prostate cancer. Curr Radiopharm. 2017 Apr;10(1):6-15.
  9. Gofrit ON, Frank S, Meirovitz A, Nechushtan H, Orevi M. PET/CT with 68Ga-DOTA-TATE for diagnosis of neuroendocrine: differentiation in patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Clin Nucl Med. 2017 Jan;42(1):1-6.
  10. Usmani S, Ahmed N, Marafi F, Rasheed R, Amanguno HG. Molecular imaging in neuroendocrine differentiation of prostate cancer: 68Ga-PSMA versus 68Ga-DOTA NOC PET-CT. Clin Nucl Med. 2017 May;42(5):410-3.
  11. Javan FN, Aryana K, Askari E. Prostate cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation recurring after treatment with 177Lu-PSMA: a chance for: 177: Lu-DOTATATE Therapy?. Clin Nucl Med. 2021 Sep;46(9):e480-2.
  12. Shahrokhi P, Emami-Ardekani A, Karamzade-Ziarati N. SSTR-based theranostics in neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Clin Transl Imaging. 2023 Aug;11(4):321-8
  13. Fallahi B, Khademi N, Karamzade-Ziarati N, Fard-Esfahani A, Emami-Ardekani A, Farzanefar S, Eftekhari M, Beiki D. 99mTc-PSMA SPECT/CT versus 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT in the evaluation of metastatic prostate cancer. Clin Nucl Med. 2021 Feb ;46(2):e68-e74.