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Updated: Jul 5, 2025
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In Vitro Modeling of Cancerous Neural Invasion: The Dorsal Root Ganglion Model
Published on: April 12, 2016
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Innervation density and types of nerves in prostate cancer
Filip Blasko1,2, Lucia Krivosikova3, Pavel Babal3
1Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Neoplasma
|January 22, 2024
Summary
Prostate cancer tissue shows significantly lower nerve density compared to normal or benign tissues. All nerve types are present but reduced, particularly in high-grade cancers, challenging experimental model applicability.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Oncology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Nerve involvement in cancer influences initiation, progression, and metastasis.
- Prostate cancer innervation is studied experimentally, but human data is limited.
- Understanding human prostate cancer innervation is crucial for prognosis and therapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify and characterize nerve density and types in human prostate cancer.
- To compare innervation in prostate cancer with normal and benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues.
- To investigate the relationship between innervation and prostate cancer grade.
Main Methods:
- Morphometric analysis of archival prostate specimens.
- Immunohistochemistry using neural markers (PGP9.5, S100, TH, VAChT, SP, CGRP).
- Dual immunofluorescence to identify sympathetic, parasympathetic, and sensory nerves.
Main Results:
- Significantly decreased nerve density in prostate cancer versus normal and benign tissues.
- Sympathetic nerves were most abundant, followed by parasympathetic, then sensory nerves.
- Innervation pattern was similar across tissues, but significantly lower in prostate cancer, especially high-grade cases.
Conclusions:
- Human prostate cancer exhibits reduced nerve density across all nerve types.
- Innervation in prostate cancer is complex and differs from experimental models.
- Further research is needed to link innervation patterns to prostate cancer biology and therapeutic strategies.
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