Inflammation and Prostate Cancer: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Identifying Opportunities for Treatment and Prevention

Abstract

Prostate cancer is a major cause of disease for men globally. Inflammation, an established hallmark of cancer, is frequently observed in the prostate, though its contribution to prostate cancer risks and outcomes is not fully understood. Prostate cancer is biologically and clinically heterogeneous, and there is now evidence that inflammation and immunological characteristics vary by the genomic and mutational landscape of the tumor. Moreover, it is now recognized that risk factor profiles vary between tumor subgroups, as defined by histopathological and molecular features. Here, we provide a review centered around the relationship between inflammation and prostate cancer, with a consideration of molecular tumor features and a particular focus on the advanced and lethal stages of disease. We summarize findings from epidemiological studies of the etiology and role of inflammation in prostate cancer. We discuss the pathology of prostate inflammation, and consider approaches for assessing the tumor immune microenvironment in epidemiological studies. We review emerging clinical therapies targeting immune biology within the context of prostate cancer. Finally, we consider potentially modifiable risk factors and corresponding lifestyle interventions that may affect prostate inflammation, impacting outcomes. These emerging insights will provide some hints for the development of treatment and prevention strategies for advanced and lethal prostate cancer.

Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Influences Body Composition Increasing Risk of Sarcopenia

“…Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most frequently diagnosed neoplasms in men, diagnosed mostly after the age of 60 and with peak incidence after the age of 75 [ 1 ]. It can be asymptomatic for a very long time [ 2 ]. A patient’s nutritional status (i.e., malnutrition) is a factor that significantly influences therapeutic decisions and treatments for cancer.…”

The prognostic value of the pretreatment lung immune prognostic index in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer

“…De novo metastatic PCa (mPCa) constitutes about 6% and 25% to 44% of the total PCa cases in the United States and Asia, respectively (1,2). Among the many factors promoting tumorigenesis and progression of PCa, inflammation plays a crucial role (3)(4)(5).…”

Association between Chronic Gingivitis and Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 19,782 Outpatients from the United Kingdom

“…The significant association between chronic gingivitis and prostate cancer raises the question of a pathophysiological basis for this mere descriptive observation. Interestingly, both local inflammation (prostatitis) as well as systemic inflammation have been associated with the pathophysiology of prostate cancer development [ 27 , 28 ]. In this line of thinking, it is of importance that periodontitis has been previously associated with prostatitis [ 29 ], which could point towards a link between gingivitis and prostatitis potentially representing an underlying cause for the association between gingivitis and prostate cancer that we observed in our cohort of patients.…”