Significance of familial history of prostate cancer to traditional prognostic variables, genetic biomarkers, and recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

OBJECTIVES

Prostate cancer (PCa) has a familial predisposition imparting an increased risk of developing the disease in those with a family history. The pathologic characteristics are similar to sporadic cases; however, the disease-free survival rates of hereditary PCa have recently been disputed, with one major study suggesting that familial cases have higher recurrence rates. Our study seeks to support or refute this association and to evaluate the genetic biomarkers p53, bcl-2, Ki-67, and neovascularity between familial and sporadic disease.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed data of 573 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy over an 11-year period. Of these, 474 patients had known family history data. Univariable statistical analysis using the Pearson chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier disease-free survival analysis was performed to identify any correlation between the tested variables and family history. Smaller subsets of this cohort that had available archival material for immunohistochemical staining and family history data were analyzed in a similar manner.

RESULTS

The preoperative variables (prostate-specific antigen, prostatic acid phosphatase, clinical stage, highest biopsy Gleason sum, and glandular differentiation) and postoperative variables (stage, highest Gleason sum, and glandular differentiation) did not correlate with family history. Kaplan-Meier disease-free survival analysis revealed no differences between sporadic and familial cases. The analysis of p53, bcl-2, Ki-67, and angiogenesis revealed that only increasing p53 expression and positive family history of PCa approached significance (P = 0.057).

CONCLUSIONS

Prognostic variables routinely used in PCa and selected genetic biomarker immunostaining abnormalities are not significantly different in men with and without a family history of PCa. Disease-free survival after radical prostatectomy is also unaffected by family history.