Combined chemotherapy with carboplatin plus irinotecan showed favorable efficacy in a patient with relapsed small cell carcinoma of the prostate complicated with meningeal carcinomatosis.

We report the case of a 65-year-old man with recurrent prostate cancer who presented with meningeal carcinomatosis. In September 2007, he had been diagnosed with mixed type small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma at clinical stage T4N1M1 (primary prostate tumor with multiple bone, liver, and lymph node metastases) and hormonal therapy had been administered. Following an increase in the level of pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP), combined chemotherapy with cisplatin plus etoposide was implemented and showed efficacy in targeting the small cell carcinoma. In March 2008, he presented with signs of meningeal irritation; his condition deteriorated quickly and multiple brain metastases were confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A sample of cerebrospinal fluid collected by lumbar puncture showed cancer cells and an elevated level of ProGRP. Small cell carcinoma of the prostate complicated with meningeal carcinomatosis was diagnosed. A different chemotherapy regimen was then administered, consisting of a combination of carboplatin plus irinotecan, which is one of the most common first-line treatments for extensive-stage small cell lung carcinoma. From day 20 after the initiation of this therapy, he gradually recovered from the signs of meningeal irritation, and brain MRI showed nearly normal findings; also, the serum level of ProGRP was reduced. In conclusion, we report the efficacy of combined treatment with carboplatin plus irinotecan for small cell carcinoma of the prostate complicated with meningeal carcinomatosis. Because this clinical condition is extremely rare, a gold standard treatment has yet to be established.

Soluble N-cadherin in human biological fluids.

Classical cadherins such as E-, P- and N-cadherin are transmembrane proteins that mediate cell-cell adhesion, and are important in embryogenesis, maintenance of tissue integrity and cancer. Proteolytic shedding of the extracellular domain results in the generation of soluble E-, P- or N-cadherin ectodomains. Circulating soluble E- and P-cadherin have been described in the serum, and elevated levels were detected in cancer patients when compared with healthy persons. Here we report the presence of soluble N-cadherin, a 90-kD protein fragment, in the serum of both healthy persons and cancer patients, using a direct ELISA and immunoprecipitation. A correlation was found between prostate specific antigen and soluble N-cadherin, and significantly elevated levels were detected in prostate cancer follow-up patients. The N-cadherin protein is neo-expressed by carcinomas of the prostate, and is responsible for epithelial to fibroblastic transition. This is reflected by the higher concentrations of soluble N-cadherin in prostate cancer patients than in healthy persons.

Cerebrospinal fluid prostate specific antigen (CSF PSA) in prostate cancer patients with lower spine metastasis.

AIM: In this prospective study, our aim was to investigate the CSF PSA levels and CSF/Serum PSA ratios in patients with prostate cancer with lower spine metastasis. METHODS: The study involved patients with prostate cancer (n = 15), benign prostatic hyperplasia (n = 17) and non-prostatic disease (n = 9). Serum and CSF were obtained prior to spinal anesthesia for urological surgery. Total PSA levels in the serum and CSF were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. The results were tested statistically using the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The mean serum PSA levels were 20.36 ng/ml in the prostate cancer patients, 5.37 ng/ml in the BPH patients and 0.76 ng/ml non-prostatic disease. The mean CSF PSA levels in groups were 0.127, 0.051 and 0.027 ng/ml, respectively. The mean CSF PSA/serum PSA ratios in groups were 0.007, 0.018 and 0.042, respectively. This result is statistically significant (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although mean serum PSA and CSF PSA levels in the patients with cancer of the prostate and lower spine metastasis are higher than those in the others, the mean CSF PSA/serum PSA ratio is lower. However, clinical usefulness of CSF PSA value and CSF PSA/ Serum PSA ratio can be limited because CSF PSA values are usually very low, and CSF PSA/Serum PSA ratio of 4 prostate cancer patients are as high as 1 BPH patient.

Prostate-specific antigen in the cerebrospinal fluid leads to diagnosis of solitary cauda equina metastasis: a unique case report and review of the literature.

A 79-year-old male patient presented with a subacute cauda syndrome caused by an intradural metastasis of the lumbosacral caudate fibres from an adenocarcinoma of the prostate, which had been treated 5 years earlier with external beam radiation therapy. Diagnosis could not be established by repeated magnetic resonance images (MRIs) during a 2-year period of increasingly severe radicular pain. Eventually, a small tumour mass could be visualized on the fourth MRI. Repeated normal serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) did not hint at a prostate cancer metastasis (range 2.4-5.1 ng ml(-1)); however, PSA in the cerebrospinal fluid was found to be elevated (29.1 ng ml(-1)). Empirical radiation therapy of the caudate region did not improve radicular pain. Therefore, an exploratory surgical procedure was conducted, which confirmed the suspicion of an intradural prostate cancer metastasis. In conclusion, PSA in the cerebrospinal fluid provides a useful diagnostic tool for detecting intradural prostate cancer metastasis.

Metastasizing extraneural tumors along the CSF pathway.

Dissemination of metastases from primarily extraneural tumors with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is rare and most often seen in association with a leptomeningeal involvement. Here we present 2 cases of bronchogenic and 1 case of prostata carcinoma with multiple CSF metastases within the entire cerebral ventricles and the spinal canal.

Cytopathology of nonlymphoreticular neoplasms metastatic to the central nervous system.

During a period of two years (1977 to 1978), 5,185 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were examined in the Cytology Laboratory of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Malignant cells were identified in 853 specimens. Of the positive specimens, 524 were obtained from 118 patients with nonlymphoreticular metastatic neoplasms. The most common tumors were mammary carcinoma (37%), pulmonary carcinoma (27%) and malignant melanoma (18%). The majority of epithelial tumors (77%) were adenocarcinomas. The interval between the primary diagnosis of malignancy and the time of first positive cytology varied significantly according to the type of neoplasm. The interval was approximately five times longer in patients with breast carcinoma and malignant melanoma (52 months) than in cases of lung carcinoma and bladder carcinoma (11 and 9 months, respectively). The prognosis, however, was invariably grave. Seventy-five percent of patients with follow-up died within 100 days of the first positive CSF. The tumor cells were often relatively small, with slight anisocytosis and pleomorphism as compared to their counterparts in other cytologic material. Cytology of the various neoplasms is presented, with attention to the morphologic changes during the follow-up period.