Morphological heterogeneities in prostate cancer bone metastases are related to molecular subtypes and prognosis.

Abstract

We previously identified three molecular subtypes of prostate cancer (PC) bone metastases, MetA-C, with MetB linked to poor prognosis after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). This study analyzed epithelial and stromal markers using immunohistochemistry, focusing on their relationship to MetA-C subtypes, spatial heterogeneities, and clinical outcomes after ADT. High tumor proliferation and low PSA expression were associated with MetB and poor outcomes after ADT. Most metastases contained tumor epithelial subclones with different morphologies. In the metastasis stroma, blood vessels and fibroblast-like cells expressed smooth muscle actin (SMA), platelet-derived growth factor β, stroma-derived factor 1 (SDF1), periostin (POSTN), and decorin (DCN). Compared to each other, MetB metastases had higher SMA and ERG + endothelial cell densities, while MetA cases showed higher SDF1 and DCN levels. Accordingly, high POSTN and ERG + densities were associated with poor outcomes after ADT, whereas high DCN indicated favorable prognosis. Low levels of AR-positive stromal cells were linked to poor outcomes. Macrophage and T-lymphocyte densities showed no significant associations with metastases subtypes or outcome. Two stroma subtypes were identified: subtype 1 with higher bone content, lower vessel density, MetA-enrichment and better prognosis compared to subtype 2 that exhibited higher tumor proliferation and lower PSA expression. Most metastases contained regions of both stroma subtypes.