Expression of Fibroblast Activation Protein Is Enriched in Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer and Predicts Worse Survival.

Background: Advanced prostate cancer (PC) may accumulate genomic alterations that hallmark lineage plasticity and transdifferentiation to a neuroendocrine (NE) phenotype. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a key player in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, its clinical value and role in NE differentiation in advanced PC has not been fully investigated.

Methods: Two hundred and eight patients from a multicenter, prospective cohort of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) with available RNA sequencing data were analyzed for tumor mRNA expression, and its association with overall survival (OS) and NE tumor features was investigated.

Results: Twenty-one patients (10%) were found to have high mRNA expression. Compared to the rest, this subset had a proportionally higher exposure to taxanes and AR signaling inhibitors (abiraterone or enzalutamide) and was characterized by active NE signaling, evidenced by high NEPC- and low AR-gene expression scores. These patients with high tumor mRNA expression had a more aggressive clinical course and significantly shorter survival (12 months) compared to those without altered expression (28 months, log-rank = 0.016).

Conclusions: expression may serve as a valuable NE marker indicating a worse prognosis in patients with metastatic CRPC.