Prognosis and Treatment Response in Aggressive-variant Prostate Cancer and Treatment-related Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background and objective Aggressive-variant prostate cancer (AVPC) is an umbrella term that encompasses clinically defined AVPC (c-AVPC), molecularly defined AVPC (m-AVPC), and treatment-related neuroendocrine PC (t-NEPC), which represent a spectrum of metastatic castration-resistant PC phenotypes with poor clinical outcomes. Despite its clinical relevance, AVPC definitions remain heterogeneous and treatment guidelines are lacking. Our aim was to elucidate AVPC prognosis and treatment responsiveness across definitions. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase, and Scopus up to September 15, 2025. Our meta-analysis included studies reporting survival outcomes and treatment responses for patients with AVPC. Key findings and limitations From 1518 records, 40 studies (including 10 abstracts) were analyzed. In comparison to non-AVPC, c-AVPC/m-AVPC was associated with shorter progression-free survival (PFS; hazard ratio [HR] 2.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.54–4.81; I 2 = 0%) and overall survival (OS; HR 2.81, 95% CI 1.87–4.22; I 2 = 36%). Platinum-based chemotherapy (PBC) outperformed non-platinum regimens, with higher objective response rates in the overall AVPC cohort (46% vs 19%; p < 0.01) and in the c-AVPC/m-AVPC (41% vs 16%; p = 0.04) and t-NEPC (49% vs 22%; p < 0.01) subgroups. In c-AVPC/m-AVPC, PBC was associated with longer PFS (HR 0.39, 95% CI 0.24–0.62; I 2 = 0%) and OS (HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.23–0.68; I 2 = 0%) according to evidence from mixed-design studies. For t-NEPC, data were insufficient for meta-analytic comparison of PFS and OS by PBC use. Conclusions and clinical implications AVPC encompasses distinct subsets of advanced PC that are associated with higher risk of progression and death on standard PC therapies. Platinum-based chemotherapy was associated with better response rates across AVPC subtypes and appears to confer a survival benefit in c-AVPC and m-AVPC. Future studies should focus on molecularly informed classification frameworks that include genomics, histology, and advanced imaging to optimize patient stratification and guide targeted therapies.