Personalizing Therapy for Metastatic Prostate Cancer: The Role of Solid and Liquid Tumor Biopsies

Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book. 2017:37:358-369. doi: 10.1200/EDBK_175510.

Abstract

Although biopsies of metastatic prostate cancer are rarely undertaken in the clinical setting, there is increasing interest in developing personalized approaches to therapy by taking into account the genetic and phenotypic changes in an individual tumor. Indeed, analysis of metastatic prostate tumors can predict sensitivity to agents that inhibit DNA repair and resistance to novel hormonal agents, such as abiraterone and enzalutamide, and identify phenotypic changes, such as neuroendocrine differentiation, that have important clinical implications. Although obtaining metastatic tumor tissue is necessary for this genomic and molecular profiling, knowing when to biopsy, selecting the appropriate metastatic lesion, and interpreting the results are major challenges facing clinicians today. In this article, we discuss the rationale for obtaining metastatic tumor tissue, review the bioinformatic approach to analyzing these specimens, discuss the timing and approach to solid and liquid tumor biopsies, review the challenges associated with obtaining and acting on clinically relevant results, and discuss opportunities for the future.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • DNA Repair / genetics
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Liquid Biopsy
  • Male
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Precision Medicine*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant
  • Receptors, Androgen / genetics

Substances

  • Receptors, Androgen