Current and emerging therapies for neuroendocrine prostate cancer

Neuroendocrine prostate cancer is a histological variant of prostate cancer that is characterized by aggressiveness, poor clinical outcomes, and expression of neuroendocrine markers. Neuroendocrine prostate cancer usually manifests in late-stage prostate cancer patients who have undergone multiple rounds of anti-androgen therapies but can, although rarely, occur in treatment naïve patients de novo. Current therapies to treat neuroendocrine prostate cancer are largely based on their success in treating patients with small cell lung cancer, a lung cancer that shares the neuroendocrine phenotype with neuroendocrine prostate cancer. However, unfortunately these therapies are not durable. In this review, we discuss therapies currently in use to treat neuroendocrine prostate cancer, including platinum-based therapies, taxanes and etoposide. Additionally, we utilize ongoing clinical trials information to identify potential emerging therapies for neuroendocrine prostate cancer. Lastly, we discuss additional potential future opportunities for targeting neuroendocrine prostate cancer.