Prostate Zones and Cancer: Lost in Transition?

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Urol

Specialty Urology

Date 2021 Oct 20

PMID 34667303

Citations 27

Authors

Amin Ali

Alexander Du Feu

Pedro Oliveira

Ananya Choudhury

Robert G Bristow

Esther Baena

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Localized prostate cancer shows great clinical, genetic and environmental heterogeneity; however, prostate cancer treatment is currently guided solely by clinical staging, serum PSA levels and histology. Increasingly, the roles of differential genomics, multifocality and spatial distribution in tumorigenesis are being considered to further personalize treatment. The human prostate is divided into three zones based on its histological features: the peripheral zone (PZ), the transition zone (TZ) and the central zone (CZ). Each zone has variable prostate cancer incidence, prognosis and outcomes, with TZ prostate tumours having better clinical outcomes than PZ and CZ tumours. Molecular and cell biological studies can improve understanding of the unique molecular, genomic and zonal cell type features that underlie the differences in tumour progression and aggression between the zones. The unique biology of each zonal tumour type could help to guide individualized treatment and patient risk stratification.

Citing Articles

Tale of two zones: investigating the clinical outcomes and research gaps in peripheral and transition zone prostate cancer through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ali A, Elumalai T, Venkatesulu B, Hekman L, Mistry H, Sachdeva A BMJ Oncol. 2025; 3(1):e000193.

PMID: 39886173 PMC: 11234997. DOI: 10.1136/bmjonc-2023-000193.

Cellular cartography reveals mouse prostate organization and determinants of castration resistance.

Cho H, Zhang Y, Tien J, Mannan R, Luo J, Narayanan S bioRxiv. 2025; .

PMID: 39763898 PMC: 11703157. DOI: 10.1101/2024.12.27.630532.

Positive Predictive Value of High-Grade Prostate Imaging and Reporting Data System V2.1 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings for Prostate Cancer.

Mehammed A, Worke A, Buser A, Issa S, Menna T, Legesse T Ethiop J Health Sci. 2024; 34(Spec Iss 1):23-30.

PMID: 39735526 PMC: 11674756. DOI: 10.4314/ejhs.v34i1.5S.

ProstateZones - Segmentations of the prostatic zones and urethra for the PROSTATEx dataset.

Holmlund W, Simko A, Soderkvist K, Palasti P, Totin S, Kalmar K Sci Data. 2024; 11(1):1097.

PMID: 39379407 PMC: 11461788. DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03945-2.

The Etiology and Pathogenesis of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: The Roles of Sex Hormones and Anatomy.

Xu G, Dai G, Huang Z, Guan Q, Du C, Xu X Res Rep Urol. 2024; 16:205-214.

PMID: 39345801 PMC: 11430843. DOI: 10.2147/RRU.S477396.

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