Regular articleMetabolic, endocrine, and genitourinary pathobiologyComplex Cellular Composition of Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Prostate

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) of the prostate are a rare type of spindle cell neoplasm that can demonstrate either a benign or malignant phenotype. SFTs represent a clinical challenge along with other spindle cell lesions of the prostate in terms of both diagnosis and treatment. The present study shows, for the first time, that SFTs of the prostate and other organs can comprise a mixed population of fibroblast, myofibroblast, and smooth muscle cell types. The highly proliferative component demonstrated a fibroblastic phenotype that readily underwent myofibroblast differentiation on exposure to profibrotic stimuli. Consistent with other recent studies, the prostatic SFTs demonstrated NAB2-STAT6 gene fusions that were also present in the fibroblast, myofibroblast, and smooth muscle cell types of the SFT. The results of these studies suggest that benign and malignant prostatic tumors of mesenchymal origin may be distinguished at the molecular and cellular levels, and that delineation of such defining characteristics may help elucidate the etiology and prognosis of such tumors.