title: The origin of prostate metastases: emerging insights.
abstract: The outcome of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) is mainly dependent on the presence or absence of distant metastases. Although several advances have been made in understanding the biological basis of this tumor, the mechanisms underlying PCa metastatic spread are not fully clear. The lack of a clear origin for PCa metastasis may be partially due to the evidence of PCa heterogeneity between primary tumor and metastases and among different metastatic sites. Cross-metastatic seeding and the de novo monoclonal seeding of daughter metastases have been proposed as crucial events during metastasis. This process requires the contribution of tumor environment, which modulates cancer cell homing and growth, and involves several components including cancer stem cells (CSCs), tumor secreted microvesicles, circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and immune cells. In this review, we have focused on the recent findings on the origin of prostate metastasis, showing the contribution of tumor microenvironment to this evolutionary process.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti Umberto I, GM Lancisi, G Salesi, Ancona, Italy. mattymo@alice.it.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Specialistic Clinical and Odontostomatological Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piva
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathological Anatomy, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, School of Medicine, United Hospitals, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scarpelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Cordoba University Medical School, Cordoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez-Beltran
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata, University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro 10, 37124, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Massari
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Unit of Urogenital and Head & Neck Tumors, European Institute of Oncology|, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iacovelli
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti Umberto I, GM Lancisi, G Salesi, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathological Anatomy, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, School of Medicine, United Hospitals, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Montironi
mesh_terms: D055354:Exosomes / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cancer stem cells; Circulating tumor cells; Exosomes; Inflammation; Metastasis; Prostate cancer