The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer include recommendations for staging and risk assessment after a prostate cancer diagnosis and for the care of patients with localized, regional, recurrent, and metastatic disease. These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize the panel’s discussions on select 2026 updates to the guidelines regarding nonmetastatic disease: the elimination of the very-low-risk group, updates to the Principles of Active Surveillance, and caution in the use of focal therapy in newly diagnosed patients.
International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Consensus Conference on Precursor Lesions
According to the current WHO classification, noninvasive germ cell neoplasia of the testis comprises germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS), specific forms of intratubular germ cell neoplasia, and gonadoblastoma. Because type II germ cell tumors (GCT, type II) arise from GCNIS, accurate detection of precursor lesions is diagnostically important. In preparation for the 2024 International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Consensus Conference on genitourinary precursor lesions, which took place in Florence, Italy, an anonymous survey was distributed to ISUP members to assess current diagnostic practices regarding testicular precursor lesions. The literature and current WHO classification affirm the significance of precursor lesions in testicular tumours. Working Group 4—Precursor Lesions of the Testis—focused on their practical application by individual pathologists rather than establishing consensus from scientific data. There is strong agreement that GCNIS is the preferred and appropriate term for GCT precursor lesions and that its presence should be reported in cases of invasive GCT. Respondents also agree that “seminoma with intratubular nonseminoma” is the appropriate terminology for seminoma with an associated noninvasive nonseminomatous (embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac tumor, trophoblasts, or teratoma) component. Most pathologists prefer to use OCT3/4 as the primary immunohistochemical marker, and a panel was generally not considered necessary. No consensus is reached regarding the requirement for immunohistochemistry to confirm GCT precursor lesions in the testis. Three questions remain open: the value of subtyping intratubular lesions, the immunohistochemical approach to gonadoblastoma, and the criteria distinguishing Sertoli cell nodules from Sertoli cell tumors.
Prostate Cancer, Version 3.2026, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines In Oncology
The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer provide a framework on which to base decisions for patients with prostate cancer across the disease spectrum. The Guidelines sections included in this article focus on metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC), nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and metastatic CRPC (mCRPC). For patients with mCSPC, disease characteristics, such as whether metastases arose synchronously or metachronously and the degree of metastatic burden, impact therapy decisions, including how much treatment intensification is appropriate and when prostate-directed and/or metastasis-directed therapy should be considered. In the mCRPC setting, androgen deprivation therapy is continued with the sequential or concurrent addition of certain androgen receptor pathway inhibitors, chemotherapies, immunotherapies, radiopharmaceuticals, and/or targeted therapies. The NCCN Prostate Cancer Panel emphasizes a shared decision-making approach in all disease settings based on patient preferences, prior treatment exposures, biomarkers, the extent and location of metastases, symptoms, and potential side effects.
Accuracy of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in Early Metastatic Testicular Seminoma: Analysis From the SEMS Trial
The NCCN Guidelines for Testicular Cancer provide recommendations for the multidisciplinary approach to the diagnostic workup, treatment, and follow-up for testicular germ cell tumors, including both seminoma and nonseminoma. These NCCN Guidelines Insights discuss the current treatment recommendations and supporting clinical data for seminomas as presented in Version 2.2025 of the NCCN Guidelines for Testicular Cancer.
The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer include recommendations for staging and risk assessment after a prostate cancer diagnosis and for the care of patients with localized, regional, recurrent, and metastatic disease. These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize the panel's discussions for the 2024 update to the guidelines with regard to initial risk stratification, initial management of very-low-risk disease, and the treatment of nonmetastatic recurrence.
Prostate Cancer, Version 4.2023, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology
The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer provide a framework on which to base decisions regarding the workup of patients with prostate cancer, risk stratification and management of localized disease, post-treatment monitoring, and treatment of recurrence and advanced disease. The Guidelines sections included in this article focus on the management of metastatic castration-sensitive disease, nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and metastatic CRPC (mCRPC). Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with treatment intensification is strongly recommended for patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer. For patients with nonmetastatic CRPC, ADT is continued with or without the addition of certain secondary hormone therapies depending on prostate-specific antigen doubling time. In the mCRPC setting, ADT is continued with the sequential addition of certain secondary hormone therapies, chemotherapies, immunotherapies, radiopharmaceuticals, and/or targeted therapies. The NCCN Prostate Cancer Panel emphasizes a shared decision-making approach in all disease settings based on patient preferences, prior treatment exposures, the presence or absence of visceral disease, symptoms, and potential side effects.
Risk Factors for Relapse in Nonseminomatous Testicular Cancer After Postchemotherapy Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection With Viable Residual Cancer
What is the role of pcRPLND in men with retroperitoneal vital cancer after first-line chemotherapy? This question arises because of the potential predictive value of miR371 in identifying residual cancer even before pcRPLND! @cdfankhauser shared data within a multicenter cohort study redefining future practice in the miR371 era.
Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced penile cancer: report from the Global Society of Rare Genitourinary Tumors
Abstract Background Treatment options for penile squamous cell carcinoma are limited. We sought to investigate clinical outcomes and safety profiles of patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. Methods This retrospective study included patients with locally advanced or metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors between 2015 and 2022 across 24 centers in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Overall survival and progression-free survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Objective response rates were determined per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours 1.1 criteria. Treatment-related adverse events were graded per the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 5.0. Two-sided statistical tests were used for comparisons. Results Among 92 patients, 8 (8.7%) were Asian, 6 (6.5%) were Black, and 24 (29%) were Hispanic and/or Latinx. Median (interquartile range) age was 62 (53-70) years. In all, 83 (90%) had metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma, and 74 (80%) had received at least second-line treatment. Most patients received pembrolizumab monotherapy (n = 26 [28%]), combination nivolumab-ipilimumab with or without multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (n = 23 [25%]), or nivolumab (n = 16 [17%]) or cemiplimab (n = 15 [16%]) monotherapies. Median overall and progression-free survival were 9.8 months (95% confidence interval = 7.7 to 12.8 months) and 3.2 months (95% confidence interval = 2.5 to 4.2 months), respectively. The objective response rate was 13% (n = 11/85) in the overall cohort and 35% (n = 7/20) in patients with lymph node–only metastases. Visceral metastases, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 1 or higher, and a higher neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio were associated with worse overall survival. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 27 (29%) patients, and 9.8% (n = 9) of the events were grade 3 or higher. Conclusions Immune checkpoint inhibitors are active in a subset of patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma. Future translational studies are warranted to identify patients more likely to derive clinical benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors.
A phase 2 study of immunogenic cell death inducer PT-112 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
TPS292 Background: PT-112 is a novel small I-O molecule currently in development for several cancers. Preclinical studies have shown the robust induction of immunogenic cell death by PT-112, leading to an anti-cancer adaptive immune response. Biodistribution experiments in mice showed PT-112’s partial bone affinity. In two prior phase I studies, late-line metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients (mCRPC pts) were treated with evidence of anti-cancer activity, including tumor volume reductions, improvements in PET and bone scans, PSA and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) reductions, and anecdotal cases of improvement in disease-related pain. This, taken together with the immunogenic and osteotropic properties observed in preclinical work, provided a strong rationale to further explore PT-112 in mCRPC, an immunologically “cold” disease with a high prevalence of bone metastases. Moreover, in an analysis of >6,000 mCRPC pts, circulating tumor cell (CTC) declines (CTC0 and CTC conversions) were correlated with improvements in survival to a greater extent than PSA declines (PSA50) (Heller et al., JCO, 36:6 2017), prompting incorporation of CTC changes as a secondary endpoint. Methods: The primary objective of the study is to define the dose regimen of PT-112 for pivotal study. Pts are randomized to one of three arms, receiving IV PT-112 on 28-day cycles via one hour infusions on (1) Days 1 and 15 at 250 mg/m2, (2) Days 1 and 15 at 360 mg/m2, or (3) Days 1 and 15 of cycle 1 at 360 mg/m2 followed by 250 mg/m2 on Day 15 of subsequent cycles. Key eligibility criteria include radiographically progressive disease at study entry; ≥3 life-prolonging therapies for metastatic disease including 1-2 taxanes, ≥1 new generation anti-androgen therapies, and other drugs FDA approved on the basis of survival; and allowing bone-only metastatic disease. Efficacy assessments comprise disease control rate at 4 months (DCR4) using RECIST and PCWG3 criteria, objective response rate, CTC0 and CTC conversion, PSA50 and ALP reductions. Additionally, T cell receptor sequencing is conducted to characterize treatment-induced changes in T cell fraction and clonal expansions, as a means of generating meaningful supportive data on the immune mechanism of PT-112 monotherapy. A Fleming two-stage design will be used to assess each arm, with a 20% DCR4 as the null hypotheses, requiring ≥6 of 25 pts responding in stage one and ≥14 of 45 in total to reject the null. In addition, other efficacy measures, such as CTC responses, as well as exposure/response and exposure/safety analyses will be applied to characterize the risk/benefit ratio and select the optimal dose regimen for PT-112. As of October 11th, 2022, 38 pts have been enrolled out of a planned maximum of 135. Clinical trial information: NCT02266745 .