Pathology and molecular updates in tumors of the prostate: towards a personalized approach

Treatment planning in patients with prostate neoplasms and prostate cancer (PCa) is generally based on the clinical and pathological molecular markers obtained from prostate needle biopsy and/or radical prostatectomy specimens. Area Covered: Pathology of prostate neoplasms is evolving rapidly. Emerging trends include new additions to the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) tumor classification as well as expanded diagnostic utility of biomarkers and molecular testing in tissue specimens, liquid biopsies and urinary samples, with the following purposes: diagnosis, prognosis and prediction. Expert commentary: The new additions to the 2016 WHO tumor classification, which include pathological definition of Intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P) and of a new grading system for PCa, as well as identification of molecular markers, such as TMPRSS2-ERG and AR-V7, may pave the way to personalized therapy for patients with prostate tumors.

Expert review of molecular diagnostics. 2017 Jun 09 [Epub ahead of print]

Silvia Gasparrini, Alessia Cimadamore, Roberta Mazzucchelli, Marina Scarpelli, Francesco Massari, Maria Rosaria Raspollini, Andrea B Galosi, Antonio Lopez-Beltran, Liang Cheng, Rodolfo Montironi

a Section of Pathological Anatomy , Marche Polytechnic University, School of Medicine, United Hospitals , Ancona , Italy., b Division of Oncology , S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital , Bologna , Italy., c Histopathology and Molecular Diagnostics , University Hospital Careggi , Florence , Italy., d Institute of Urology, Marche Polytechnic University, School of Medicine, United Hospitals , Ancona , Italy., e Department of Surgery , Cordoba University Medical School , Cordoba , Spain., f Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine , Indiana University School of Medicine , Indianapolis , IN , USA.