The Open Prostate Cancer Journal

2015, 8 : 1-9
Published online 2015 February 27. DOI: 10.2174/1876822901508010001
Publisher ID: TOPCANJ-8-1

Assessing Expression of MUC1 and ZAG Protein Biomarkers in Prostate Biopsies Improves Prediction of Adverse Pathology Following Radical Prostatectomy

Nazish Durrani , Mark Waldron , Catherine Cherry , Laurence Harewood , Mark Frydenberg , John Pedersen and John Mills
Monash University & Burnet Institute, 85 Commercial Road, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3004.

ABSTRACT

Objectives:

To determine whether assessing expression of MUC1 and ZAG proteins in prostate biopsies, by immunohistochemistry, improves prediction of radical prostatectomy histopathology, which in turn predicts longer-term outcomes.

Methods:

We studied 231 consecutive patients managed by two experienced urologic surgeons (MF, LH). Each patient had prostate biopsies revealing cancer followed by a radical prostatectomy. Expression of MUC1 and ZAG in biopsy tissue was assessed by immunohistochemistry, masked to the radical prostatectomy histopathology. Data were analysed by Chi-square, Fischer exact test & Mann Whitney U test followed by multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression.

Results:

By univariate analysis, MUC1 expression in prostate biopsies was associated with worse histopathology in the radical prostatectomy specimen (p<0.023), while ZAG expression was associated with better pathology (p=0.03). By multivariate analysis decreased expression of ZAG in biopsies (p=0.02), but not MUC1 expression, improved prediction of high-risk radical prostatectomy pathology beyond conventional biopsy variables; neither MUC1 nor ZAG staining improved prediction of minimal-risk cancers.

Conclusion:

Assessment of ZAG expression in prostate biopsies, and possibly MUC1 expression, may improve knowledge of prostate cancers in vivo or after radical prostatectomy.

Keywords:

Biomarkers, MUC1, prostate biopsy, prostate cancer, ZAG.