Aggressive Variant Prostate Carcinoma

**Semantic type:** Neoplastic Process

**Definition:** A lethal form of advanced castration-resistant prostate carcinoma that emerges in the later stages of castration-resistant treatment. It is an adaptive response to androgen receptor pathway inhibition. The morphologic features vary, ranging from poorly differentiated carcinomas to mixed adenocarcinoma-small cell carcinomas to pure small cell carcinomas expressing neuroendocrine markers. Clinically, it manifests with rapidly progressive disease, visceral or lytic bone metastases and bulky tumor masses. Molecular studies have shown the loss of tumor suppressor genes TP53 and RB1.

**Synonyms:** - AVPCa - Aggressive Variant Prostate Cancer - Anaplastic Prostate Cancer - Anaplastic Prostate Carcinoma - Metastatic Aggressive Variant Prostate Cancer - Metastatic Aggressive Variant Prostate Carcinoma - Treatment-Related Anaplastic Prostate Cancer - Treatment-Related Anaplastic Prostate Carcinoma