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Pathogenesis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer
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Pathogenesis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 1240

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Vincenzo Fiorentino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Anatomic Pathology Unit, Department of Human Pathology in Adult and Developmental Age "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Interests: molecular biology; liquid biopsy; immunohistochemistry; predictive markers; endometrial carcinoma
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Prostate cancer represents a significant global health challenge and signifies a complex and heterogeneous disease with diverse clinical presentations and outcomes. While advances in screening and treatment have improved survival rates, there remains a pressing need for further research to explore its pathogenesis, identify novel therapeutic targets, and optimize personalized treatment strategies.

The aim of this Special Issue is to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying prostate cancer initiation and progression, explore the interplay between genetic and environmental factors, and discuss emerging diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and novel therapeutic approaches.

Dr. Vincenzo Fiorentino
Guest Editor

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • prostate cancer
  • pathogenesis
  • genetic mutations
  • target therapy
  • surgery
  • radiation therapy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

23 pages, 1072 KB  
Review
PD-L1 Expression in Prostate Cancer: Anatomopathological Features, Methodological Pitfalls, and Therapeutic Potential
by Ludovica Pepe, Cristina Pizzimenti, Pietro Tralongo, Valeria Zuccalà, Antonio Ieni, Pietro Pepe, Gabriele Ricciardi, Vincenzo Cianci, Cristina Mondello, Maurizio Martini, Guido Fadda and Vincenzo Fiorentino
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(4), 1797; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27041797 - 13 Feb 2026
Viewed by 690
Abstract
Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) has become a central biomarker and therapeutic target across multiple solid tumors, yet its clinical meaning in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unsettled. PCa is commonly described as an immunologically ‘cold’ malignancy, characterized by limited baseline cytotoxic T-cell infiltration and [...] Read more.
Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) has become a central biomarker and therapeutic target across multiple solid tumors, yet its clinical meaning in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unsettled. PCa is commonly described as an immunologically ‘cold’ malignancy, characterized by limited baseline cytotoxic T-cell infiltration and a tumor microenvironment (TME) shaped by myeloid-driven suppression and low neoantigen load in many cases. Against this background, PD-L1 expression in PCa is typically low in untreated primary tumors but can increase in aggressive variants, advanced stages, and metastatic castration-resistant disease, where therapy pressure and microenvironmental cues may select for immune-evasive phenotypes. The literature is further complicated by major analytic variability, including differences in antibody clones and platforms, scoring algorithms (tumor proportion score, combined positive score, immune-cell scoring), cut-offs, tissue sites and timing, and pre-analytical variables such as fixation and decalcification. Collectively, available studies suggest that higher PD-L1 expression tends to be associated with adverse clinicopathological features and may enrich for responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in selected settings, but PD-L1 immunohistochemistry alone is insufficient as a stand-alone predictive tool in unselected patients. This review synthesizes the biological drivers of PD-L1 regulation in PCa, dissects key methodological sources of heterogeneity in PD-L1 assessment, summarizes clinicopathological and therapeutic correlations, and outlines emerging biomarkers and approaches (including mismatch repair deficiency/microsatellite instability, tumor mutational burden, gene-expression signatures, liquid biopsies, and neuro-immune interactions) that may enable more actionable patient stratification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathogenesis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer)
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