NRG1 May Predict Incidence of CRPC Among Patients With Prostate Cancer
A study found that serum NRG1, NRG1 protein, and NRG1 mRNA in the tumor tissue prior to receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) may predict the incidence of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) among patients with prostate cancer receiving ADT.
According to study authors, “androgen deprivation resistance is a significant cause of prostate cancer metastasis and mortality post-treatment” and they noted, “the median survival of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer is 15-36 months depending on tumor characteristics.”
In this study, 237 patients with prostate cancer were included and divided into those with castration-resistant prostate cancer and those with non-CRPC. Baseline characteristics including age, TNM classification, Gleason score, ECOG score, Osseous metastasis, and PSA levels, were collected and levels of NRG1 in blood and tumor tissue were detected.
There were a total of 85 cases that progressed to CRPC within 1 year. Among those 85 patients, the NRG1 level in both serum and biopsy tissue, as well as relative NRG1 mRNA levels in tumor tissues, were detected before the initiation of ADT. Levels of serum NRG1, NRGS1 protein in tumor tissue, and NRG1 mRNA in tumor tissue were significantly higher among patients with CRPC prior to receiving ADT than those with non-CRPC. The characteristic with highest diagnostic accuracy for predicting CRPC progression was relative NRG1 mRNA expression in tumor tissue. Study authors noted that NRG1 levels in tumors tissue showed “robust predictive performance,” and serum NRG1 levels showed “moderate discriminatory power.”
The study authors concluded that serum NRG1, NRG1 protein, and NRG1 mRNA were all higher among patients with CRPC compared to those with non-CRPC and that NRG1 levels can predict CRPC incidence among patients receiving ADT. They also concluded, “NRG1 was…positively correlated to Gleason score and serum PSA levels, which are predictors of outcome” among patients with prostate cancer.
Source:
Li S, Zhao W, Wang D, et al. Neuregulin-1 correlates to early castration-resistant prostate cancer after prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy. J Cancer. 2025; 16(10):3261-3269. doi:10.7150/jca.112954
