Primary mosaic neuroendocrine/adenocarcinoma of the prostate

Mosaic cancers are composed of two or several genetically different cell populations. Mosaicism has been considered to be rare among solid malignancies, with the exception of the germ cell tumours. Although neuroendocrine foci have been described within adenocarcinomas of the prostate, they have been interpreted as an advanced stage of the disease and the clinical relevance of the histological finding has remained uncertain. In this communication we give a summary on neuroendocrine prostate cancers. We recall the results of a recent single centre cohort of patients with neuroendocrine prostate cancer that showed higher incidence and better prognosis as expected by the literature. We show for the first time histological images of a primary mosaic neuroendocrine/adenocarcinoma of the prostate. A model explaining the development of mosaic cancers in the prostate is presented. Finally, we discuss the phenomenon of mosaicism related to prostate cancer in general.