Identification of novel somatic fusions of ERG‐VEGFA, TMPRSS2‐ERG, and VEGFA‐TMPRSS2 in prostate cancer treated with anlotinib and androgen deprivation therapy: A case report

Abstract

Abstract The TMPRSS2‐ERG fusion gene has frequently been found in prostate cancer and is associated with malignancy. Identifying novel fusions will help to stratify patients and establish patient‐tailored therapies. A 78‐year‐old man presented to our hospital with severe symptoms of urinary urgency and frequency for 2 years, as well as severe bone pain for 1 year. He was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 5 + 5. Three gene fusions, ERG_VEGFA, TMPRSS2_ERG, and VEGFA_TMPRSS2, were identified in the patient's prostate cancer tissue. Notably, administration of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, anlotinib, in combination with a gonadotropin‐releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) and abiraterone, reduced the patient's bone pain and also stabilized his prostate cancer for more than 2 years. This is the first report of somatic fusions among the VEGFA, ERG, and TMPRSS2 genes in cancer tissues from a patient with prostate cancer who responded well to antiangiogenic treatment combined with a GnRHa and abiraterone.

Keywords

• anlotinib
• case report
• fusion
• prostate cancer
• VEGFA