Molecular pathology selected abstracts
September 2020—Whole genome methylation profiling is used to subclassify neuroepithelial tumors and soft tissue sarcomas. Extending its use to much more common cancers, such as prostate cancer, has the potential to benefit a large number of patients. Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is the incurable and lethal form of prostate cancer and consists of different subgroups with variable morphologies and genomic alterations. The emergence of distinct subtypes of mCRPC likely represents adaption of the cancer cells to treatment and the microenvironment. The authors conducted a study that integrated methylation profiling with genomic sequencing and RNA transcriptome analysis in 100 mCRPC tumors, yielding a comprehensive molecular profile of these metastatic tumors.