Rapid progression of mixed neuroendocrine carcinoma-acinar adenocarcinoma of the prostate: A case report

Abstract

The current study presents the case of a 78-year-old male with mixed neuroendocrine (NE) carcinoma-acinar adenocarcinoma of the prostate. The patient received endocrine therapy (maximal androgen blockade) after the initial diagnosis resulting in a significant decrease in serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. The patient underwent transurethral resection of the prostate after 6 months of androgen-deprivation therapy for extraordinarily salient difficulty in urination, and histopathology demonstrated mixed NE carcinoma-acinar adenocarcinoma once again. The NE prostate cancer progressed rapidly even though the serum PSA was controlled at a low level on account of the endocrine therapy. Previous treatment protocols were replaced by combined chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, and the patient responded well. The patient’s serum PSA remained at a low level, however, urethral dilatation for acute urinary retention was required again 5 months later and the lower urinary tract symptoms became increasingly evident. The patient eventually died of cachexia.. These findings indicate that mixed NE carcinoma-acinar adenocarcinoma has a higher degree of malignancy and that endocrine therapy for prostate cancer has a propensity to facilitate progression of this tumor.