Proportion of intermediate epithelial cells and human prostate cancer
Yu, D.-J.; Tang, Y.-Q.; Shi, Y.-F.; Wang, Y.-C.; Zhuo, J.; Zhu, Y.-Y.; Sun, X.-W.; Xia, S.-J.
Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue 16(12): 1063-1067
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1009-3591 PMID: 21348194 Document Number: 645844
To study the different proportions of intermediate epithelial cells in human prostate cancer tissue and their clinical significance. We performed immunohistochemical staining for Cytokeratin 5 (CK5) and Cytokeratin 8 (CK8) on 60 samples of human prostate cancer, determined the proportions of intermediate epithelial cells in the cancer tissue, and classified the samples into 2 types, one with a majority of intermediate epithelial cells (CaP-INT, n = 32), and the other composed mostly of luminal epithelial cells (CaP-LUM, n = 28). Then we compared the 2 types of prostate cancer in the expression of the androgen receptor (AR), age of the patient, serum t-PSA, prostate volume, Gleason score, clinical stage, androgen resistance, and incidence of distant metastasis. CaP-INT showed a significantly lower expression of AR ([24.42 +/- 11.41] %) and a higher incidence of distant metastasis (n = 14) than CaP-LUM ([77.21 +/- 10.22] % and n = 4) (P < 0.05). In the CaP-INT group, 6 of the 26 endocrinologically treated cases developed into androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC), while in the CaP-LUM group, only 1 out of 23 (P < 0.05). The former also showed remarkably higher clinical stages than the latter (P < 0.05), but no significant differences were found in age, serum t-PSA, prostate volume and Gleason score between the two groups (P > 0.05). A higher proportion of intermediate epithelial cells may lead to increased invasiveness and metastasis of human prostate cancer.