The Open Prostate Cancer Journal
2015, 8 : 1-9Published 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
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.