USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Anticancer Res. 2011 Nov;31(11):3897-901.
BACKGROUND/AIM: The role of neuroendocrine (NE) cells in prostate cancer biology remains unclear. We previously reported a large difference in NE expression in benign prostate tissue among men of different ethnicities; African-American men had significantly fewer NE cells compared to all other groups. This report describes NE expression in malignant prostate tissue.
Paraffin-embedded tissue from 180 men who underwent radical prostatectomy at the University of Southern California between 1983 and 2003 was stained using standard immunohistochemistry technique for chromogranin A (ChrA), serotonin (Ser) and synaptophysin (Syn). There were 39 specimens from African-American patients, 39 Asian, 57 Hispanic and 45 non-Hispanic White. Staining intensity and the percentage of cells positive were determined by the automated cellular imaging system. Results were analyzed by univariate and multivariate general linear regression models.
There were significant differences in staining intensity for all markers between ethnic groups in univariate analysis. NE expression, judged by ChrA intensity, was highest in Hispanic patients, compared to non-Hispanic Whites and African-Americans. A similar pattern was observed for Syn and Ser. In multivariate analysis, controlling for age, Gleason score, PSA and stage, the differences in ChrA, Syn and Ser remained highly significant. Hispanic men had higher ChrA expression levels than African-Americans and non-Hispanic Whites (p=0.0077 and 0.0038, respectively); the p-values for the comparison were both <0.0001 for Ser. Both Hispanic and Asian patients had higher intensity Ser expression than African-American and Non-Hispanic Whites patients, with all p-values <0.018.
As already shown in benign prostate tissue, we identified significant differences in NE expression among prostate cancer tissues from men of different ethnic backgrounds. The clinical impact of these differences in NE expression warrants exploration.
背景/目的：神经内分泌（NE）细胞在前列腺癌生物学中的作用尚不清楚。我们之前报道过，不同种族男性的良性前列腺组织中 NE 表达存在很大差异；与所有其他组相比，非裔美国男性的 NE 细胞明显更少。本报告描述了恶性前列腺组织中的 NE 表达。
1983 年至 2003 年期间，在南加州大学接受根治性前列腺切除术的 180 名男性的石蜡包埋组织使用免疫组织化学技术染色，用于检测嗜铬粒蛋白 A（ChrA）、血清素（Ser）和突触素（Syn）。其中 39 例来自非裔美国患者，39 例来自亚洲患者，57 例来自西班牙裔患者，45 例来自非西班牙裔白人患者。通过自动细胞成像系统确定染色强度和阳性细胞百分比。结果通过单变量和多变量线性回归模型进行分析。
在单变量分析中，不同种族之间所有标志物的染色强度均存在显著差异。根据 ChrA 强度判断，西班牙裔患者的 NE 表达最高，与非西班牙裔白人和非裔美国人相比。Syn 和 Ser 也观察到类似的模式。在多变量分析中，控制年龄、Gleason 评分、PSA 和分期后，ChrA、Syn 和 Ser 的差异仍然非常显著。西班牙裔男性的 ChrA 表达水平高于非裔美国人和非西班牙裔白人（p=0.0077 和 0.0038，分别）；与非裔美国人相比，p 值均<0.0001；与非西班牙裔白人相比，p 值均<0.0001。西班牙裔和亚裔患者的 Ser 表达强度均高于非裔美国人和非西班牙裔白人患者，所有 p 值均<0.018。
正如在良性前列腺组织中已经显示的那样，我们在不同种族背景的前列腺癌组织中发现了 NE 表达的显著差异。这些 NE 表达差异的临床意义值得进一步探讨。
