Unearthing a Prostate Cancer cfDNA Signature that "Stems" from AR Alterations

Clin Cancer Res. 2025 Jan 6;31(1):7-9. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-24-2849.

Abstract

Androgen receptor alterations portend a poor prognosis in patients with advanced prostate cancer. A recent study identified a stemness signature enriched in cell-free DNA from androgen receptor-altered patients, associated with worse outcomes. These findings highlight the potential of epigenomic liquid biopsy tools to discover novel clinically relevant tumor molecular subtypes. See related article by Chauhan et al., p. 151.

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor* / genetics
  • Cell-Free Nucleic Acids / blood
  • Cell-Free Nucleic Acids / genetics
  • Circulating Tumor DNA / blood
  • Circulating Tumor DNA / genetics
  • Humans
  • Liquid Biopsy / methods
  • Male
  • Mutation
  • Prognosis
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / blood
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Receptors, Androgen* / genetics

Substances

  • Receptors, Androgen
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Cell-Free Nucleic Acids
  • AR protein, human
  • Circulating Tumor DNA