Understanding Prostate Cancer

Investigation of prostate cancer heterogeneity as a key to dissecting its characteristic cell subtypes

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among men, accounting for approximately 19% of all male cancers, and remains clinically challenging due to its often-indolent nature and unpredictable prognosis. Despite widespread use of diagnostic and screening tools, including prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, accurately distinguishing between benign conditions, indolent tumors, and aggressive disease remains difficult. PSA levels reflect prostate activity rather than tumor aggressiveness, leading to overdiagnosis and overtreatment in a substantial number of patients. This highlights the urgent need for more reliable biomarkers and refined molecular stratification.

Recent advances in cellular and genomic profiling have revealed significant molecular and functional heterogeneity within prostate tumors, particularly among basal and luminal epithelial cell populations. However, the extent of cellular heterogeneity and its clinical implications are still not fully understood. In this context, the present project aims to investigate the genetic heterogeneity and cellular subtypes of prostate cancer through integrated analyses of primary tumor tissue and circulating components.

The primary objectives include the identification and characterization of specific cellular subtypes in prostate tissues from patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia, precancerous lesions, and prostate cancer using single-cell analysis and immunohistochemistry. In parallel, comprehensive genomic profiling of primary tumors will be performed to identify mutations, gene amplifications, and genomic alterations associated with disease heterogeneity and progression. These findings will be correlated with circulating tumor cells and liquid biopsy data to assess concordance and evaluate the clinical utility of minimally invasive approaches.

Funding sources:

Bando 2023 – Programma 5 per mille anno 2022 Bando di ricerca scientifico-sanitaria LILT

Research Team:

The project is leaded by Andrea Angius at the Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research (IRGB) in collaboration with the Department of Medical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences at the University of Sassari, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria (AOU) Sassari and Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Locale (ASL) Nuoro.