Abstract
Objectives: The net oncogenic effect of β2-adrenergic receptor ADRB2, whose downstream elements induce neuroendocrine differentiation and whose expression is regulated by EZH2, is unclear. ADRB2 expression and associated clinical outcomes in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) are unknown. Methods and materials: This was a retrospective analysis of a multi-center, prospectively enrolled cohort of mCRPC patients. Metastatic biopsies were obtained at progression, and specimens underwent laser capture microdissection and RNA-seq. ADRB2 expression was stratified by histology and clustering based on unsupervised hierarchical transcriptome analysis and correlated with EZH2 expression; an external dataset was used for validation. The association between ADRB2 expression and overall survival (OS) was assessed by log-rank test and a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model. Results: One hundred and twenty-seven patients with progressive mCRPC had sufficient metastatic tumor for RNA-seq. ADRB2 expression was lowest in the small cell-enriched transcriptional cluster (P < 0.01) and correlated inversely with EZH2 expression (r = -0.28, P < 0.01). These findings were validated in an external cohort enriched for neuroendocrine differentiation. Patients with tumors harboring low ADRB2 expression (lowest quartile) had a shorter median OS than those with higher (9.5 vs. 20.5 months, P = 0.02). In multivariable analysis, low ADRB2 expression was associated with a trend toward shorter OS (HR for death = 1.54, 95%CI 0.98–2.44). Conversely, higher expression of upstream transcriptional regulator EZH2 was associated with shortened OS (HR for death = 3.01, 95%CI 1.12–8.09). Conclusions: Low ADRB2 expression is associated with neuroendocrine differentiation and is associated with shortened survival. EZH2 is a potential therapeutic target for preventing neuroendocrine transdifferentiation and improving outcomes in mCRPC. Further studies of agents targeting β-adrenergic signaling are warranted.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 931.e9-931.e16 |
Journal | Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2020 |
Keywords
- ADRB2
- Beta adrenergic receptor
- EZH2
- Neuroendocrine
- Prostate cancer
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Urology