Tumor expression of human chorionic gonadotropin beta mRNA and prognosis of prostate cancer treated by radical prostatectomy.

The beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCGß) is encoded by six genes (CGB) classified as type I and type II. CGB mRNA is produced in large amounts by trophoblastic tissues and in small amounts by several cancerous tissues including prostate cancer and by a few benign tissues, including the prostate. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to study the expression levels of all CGB mRNAs together (total CGB mRNA) and the two types of CGB mRNA separately in non-cancerous (n = 74) and cancerous prostatic tissue obtained by radical prostatectomy (n = 193). RNA was isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples and mRNA levels of CGB were correlated with disease-specific survival. Total CGB mRNA concentrations were significantly lower (p < .0001) in cancerous than non-cancerous prostatic tissue. Separate analysis of type I CGB and type II CGB mRNA showed that both type I CGB (p < .0001) and type II CGB mRNA (p = .007) are lower in cancerous tissue than in non-cancerous tissue. Low type II CGB mRNA level in cancerous tissue was associated with shorter cancer-specific survival (p = .001) of prostate cancer patients treated by radical prostatectomy.

Increased HSF1 expression predicts shorter disease-specific survival of prostate cancer patients following radical prostatectomy.

Prostate cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease and the clinical outcome is varying. While current prognostic tools are regarded insufficient, there is a critical need for markers that would aid prognostication and patient risk-stratification. Heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) is crucial for cellular homeostasis, but also a driver of oncogenesis. The clinical relevance of HSF1 in prostate cancer is, however, unknown. Here, we identified HSF1 as a potential biomarker in mRNA expression datasets on prostate cancer. Clinical validation was performed on tissue microarrays from independent cohorts: one constructed from radical prostatectomies from 478 patients with long term follow-up, and another comprising of regionally advanced to distant metastatic samples. Associations with clinical variables and disease outcomes were investigated. Increased nuclear HSF1 expression correlated with disease advancement and aggressiveness and was, independently from established clinicopathological variables, predictive of both early initiation of secondary therapy and poor disease-specific survival. In a joint model with the clinical Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment post-Surgical (CAPRA-S) score, nuclear HSF1 remained a predictive factor of shortened disease-specific survival. The results suggest that nuclear HSF1 expression could serve as a novel prognostic marker for patient risk-stratification on disease progression and survival after radical prostatectomy.

ITGB1-dependent upregulation of Caveolin-1 switches TGFß signalling from tumour-suppressive to oncogenic in prostate cancer.

Caveolin-1 (CAV1) is over-expressed in prostate cancer (PCa) and is associated with adverse prognosis, but the molecular mechanisms linking CAV1 expression to disease progression are poorly understood. Extensive gene expression correlation analysis, quantitative multiplex imaging of clinical samples, and analysis of the CAV1-dependent transcriptome, supported that CAV1 re-programmes TGFß signalling from tumour suppressive to oncogenic (i.e. induction of SLUG, PAI-1 and suppression of CDH1, DSP, CDKN1A). Supporting such a role, CAV1 knockdown led to growth arrest and inhibition of cell invasion in prostate cancer cell lines. Rationalized RNAi screening and high-content microscopy in search for CAV1 upstream regulators revealed integrin beta1 (ITGB1) and integrin associated proteins as CAV1 regulators. Our work suggests TGFß signalling and beta1 integrins as potential therapeutic targets in PCa over-expressing CAV1, and contributes to better understand the paradoxical dual role of TGFß in tumour biology.

Multimodal Primary Treatment of Metastatic Prostate Cancer with Androgen Deprivation and Radiation.

AIM: We combined anti-androgen therapy with radiotherapy in a first-line setting for metastatic prostate cancer aiming to cause maximal cancer-cell death to delay the emergence of castration-resistant disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this non-randomized retrospective series of 46 patients, the initial median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was 98.5 µg/l (range=6.7-15,500), median Gleason score 9 and most men had at least T3N1M1 disease. All patients received luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog or degarelix with bicalutamide. If PSA remained above 1 µg/l, docetaxel was initiated. At PSA nadir, all patients received radical radiotherapy of the prostate. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 4.38 years (range=0.36-11.24). Most radiotherapy-related adverse events were grade 1 and transient. There were no grade 4 events. Overall survival (OS) at 5 years was 81.3%. CONCLUSION: The feasibility and safety of aggressive multimodality treatment were good resulting in an excellent median OS of 8.35 years.

Loss of PTEN expression in ERG-negative prostate cancer predicts secondary therapies and leads to shorter disease-specific survival time after radical prostatectomy.

The clinical course of prostate cancer is highly variable. Current prognostic variables, stage, and Gleason score have limitations in assessing treatment regimens for individual patients, especially in the intermediate-risk group of Gleason score 7. ERG:TMPRSS2 fusion and loss of PTEN are some of the most common genetic alterations in prostate cancer. Immunohistochemistry of PTEN and ERG has generated interest as a promising method for more precise outcome prediction but requires further validation in population-based cohorts. We studied the predictive value of ERG and PTEN expression by immunohistochemistry in two large radical prostatectomy cohorts comprising 815 patients with extensive follow-up information. Clinical end points were initiation of secondary therapy, overall survival, and disease-specific survival. Predictions of clinical outcomes were also assessed according to androgen receptor (AR) activity. PTEN loss, especially in ERG-negative cancers, predicted initiation of secondary treatments and shortened disease-specific survival time, as well as stratifying Gleason score 7 patients into different prognostic groups with regard to secondary treatments and disease-specific survival. High AR immunoreactivity in ERG-negative cancers with PTEN loss predicted worse disease-specific survival. We also observed that in Gleason score 7 ERG-negative cases with PTEN loss and high AR expression have significantly shorter disease-specific survival time compared with ERG-positive cases. Our conclusion is that loss of PTEN is a strong determining factor for shorter disease-specific survival time and initiation of secondary therapies after radical prostatectomy. The predictive value of PTEN immunoreactivity is further accentuated in ERG-negative cancers with high AR expression. Negative PTEN expression, accompanied by ERG status, can be used to stratify patients with Gleason score 7 into different survival groups. Assessment of PTEN and ERG status could provide an additional tool for initial diagnostics when determining the prognosis and subsequent follow-up regimen for patients treated by radical prostatectomy.