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Prognostic potential of ERG (ETS-related gene) expression in prostatic adenocarcinoma

  • Urology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Purpose

Following patients after prostatectomy can be expensive and stressful, therefore, a novel and reliable approach to improve stratification is needed both at diagnosis of PCa and following its treatment. We evaluate the association of both ERG and claudin-4, claudin-5, and beta-catenin expression in tumor tissues of patients with organ-confined and advanced prostatic adenocarcinomas.

Methods

A total of 30 patients were included in the study. Nine men who underwent radical prostatectomy for organ-confined (pT2N0M0) cancer (OCC), 10 patients with clinically advanced cancer (CAC), and 11 controls with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Using immunohistochemistry applied to tissue microarrays, each group was evaluated for beta-catenin, claudin-4, claudin-5, and ERG expression.

Results

The expression of ERG was higher in the CAC group when compared to OCC and BPH (p = 0.7684, p = 0.0224, respectively). Among these patients, 5 from the CAC (45 %) and 5 from the OCC group (56 %) stained positively for ERG (p = 1.0). The mean staining score for those with ERG+ advanced cancer was greater than that for the ERG+ organ-confined cancer (p = 0.0209). ERG staining correlated with Gleason score (Pearson’s correlation: 0.498, p = 0.0051), but not with serum PSA level (Pearson’s correlation: 0.404, p = 0.1202). When analyzing outcome data, high ERG expressing tumors have shown a significantly worse overall survival (p = 0.0084).

Conclusions

Our results of presence or absence of claudin-4 and claudin-5 and ERG staining intensities suggest their potential as prognostic factors for prostate cancer.

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Acknowledgments

Grant support: MTA-2012TKI643 grant to AMSz and JK. TÁMOP-4.2.2/B-10/1-2010-0013 grant to JK.

Conflict of interest

We the authors herewith declare that there is no any competing financial interest in relation to the work described.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 2nd Department of Pathology, Semmelweis University, 93 Üllői út, 1091, Budapest, Hungary

    A. Marcell Szász & Janina Kulka

  2. Department of Urology, Semmelweis University, 78/B Üllői út, 1082, Budapest, Hungary

    Attila Majoros, Attila Szendrői & Péter Nyirády

  3. Department of Surgery, United States Military Cancer Institute, Center for Prostate Disease Research, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 1530 East Jefferson Street, Rockville, MD, 20814, USA

    Philip Rosen, Shiv Srivastava & Albert Dobi

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  1. A. Marcell Szász
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Correspondence to Péter Nyirády.

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Szász, A.M., Majoros, A., Rosen, P. et al. Prognostic potential of ERG (ETS-related gene) expression in prostatic adenocarcinoma. Int Urol Nephrol 45, 727–733 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-013-0406-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-013-0406-2

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