The biology and clinical implications of prostate cancer dormancy and metastasis.
Disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) are detected early in the disease process in prostate cancer (PCa) patients and can persist after radical prostatectomy. DTCs can remain dormant in patients with no evidence of disease for a prolonged period of time only to recur 10 or more years later. Recent advances in single-cell genomics and transcriptomics have provided much needed insight into DTC biology and cancer dormancy in patients. With the development of new in vitro and preclinical models, researchers recapitulate the clinical events in patients and therefore allow further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer dormancy and escape. In this review, we explore novel ideas on the detection, heterogeneous transcriptomic profiles, molecular and cellular mechanisms of dormancy, and potential mechanisms underlying dormancy escape by DTCs. As such, there is hope that identifying and targeting novel dormancy-associated pathways in patients with residual disease will have significant clinical implications for the treatment of PCa patients in the future.
Department of Urology, University of Washington, 1959 Pacific Street NE, Box 356510, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
Colm
C
Morrissey
Department of Urology, University of Washington, 1959 Pacific Street NE, Box 356510, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.|Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1660 S Columbian Way, Seattle, WA, 98108, USA.
Robert L
RL
Vessella
Department of Urology, University of Washington, 1959 Pacific Street NE, Box 356510, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.|Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1660 S Columbian Way, Seattle, WA, 98108, USA.
Paul H
PH
Lange
Department of Urology, University of Washington, 1959 Pacific Street NE, Box 356510, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. minglam@uw.edu.
Hung-Ming
HM
Lam
D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D011467:Prostate / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D059467:Transcriptome; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
D035683:MicroRNAs
Bone marrow; Disseminated tumor cells; Dormancy; Metastasis; Microenvironment; Prostate cancer