PurposeThe androgen receptor (AR) plays a central role in prostate cancer. Evidence from several groups indicates that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) may enhance AR activity in prostate cancer cell lines. This study was designed to investigate the protein expression of AR, EGFR, and HER2 and to determine whether the EGFR and HER2 genes are amplified in prostate cancer tissues.Materials and MethodsThe protein expression levels of AR, EGFR, and HER2 in a tissue microarray block of 66 prostate cancer samples were investigated by immunohistochemical analysis and chromogenic in situ hybridization was used to determine whether the EGFR and HER2 genes were amplified in these tissues.ResultsThe AR and EGFR proteins were expressed in 59.1% and 40.9% of prostate cancers, respectively, but their expression levels were not significantly associated with clinicopathologic factors. Of the cases in which tissues were negative for EGFR protein expression, 69.2% were positive for AR protein expression; however, AR protein expression was significantly reduced (44.4%) in tissues in which EGFR protein was expressed. HER2 expression was detected in only 1 case (1.5%). No amplification of the EGFR or HER2 genes was found in prostate cancer specimens.ConclusionThis study was limited by small number of subjects, but it can still be inferred that the expression levels of the AR and EGFR proteins are inversely correlated in prostate cancer patients. The potential utility of EGFR and HER2 as prognostic factors or therapeutic targets warrants further study.

The intestinal histopathology and in situ postures of Gymnophalloides seoi (Digenea: Gymnophallidae) were studied using C3H/HeN and C57BL/6 mice as experimental hosts; the effects of immunosuppression were also observed. The metacercariae isolated from naturally infected oysters, 300 or 1,000 in number, were infected orally to each mouse, and the mice were killed at days 3-21 post-infection (PI). In immunocompetent (IC) mice, only a small number of flukes were found in the mucosa of the duodenum and jejunum during days 3-7 PI, with their large oral suckers pinching and sucking the root of villi. The intestinal mucosa showed mild villous atrophy, crypt hyperplasia, and inflammations in the villous stroma and crypt, with remarkable goblet cell hyperplasia. These mucosal changes were almost restored after days 14-21 PI. In immunosuppressed (IS) mice, displacement as well as complete loss of villi adjacent to the flukes was frequently encountered, otherwise the histopathology was generally mild, with minimal goblet cell hyperplasia. In these mice, numerous flukes were found, and it seemed that they were actively moving and rotating in situ. Several flukes were found to have invaded into the submucosa, almost facing the serosa. These results indicate that in IC mice the intestinal histopathology caused by G. seoi is generally mild, and the flukes do not penetrate beyond the mucosa, however, in IS mice, the flukes can cause severe destruction of neighboring villi, and some of them invade into the submucosa.

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Little is known about genetic alterations of patients who present multiple primary cancers. We hypothesized that microsatellite instability (

The malignant conversion of epithelial cells involves alterations in the expression and the function of cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesive systems that enable a switch to a migratory phenotype in tumor invasion and metastasis. Here, the author studies the prevalence and the potential clinical significance of fascin and Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression in relation to the progression of colon adenocarcinoma and of tumor cell proliferation as measured by using the topoisomerase II-α(Topo II-α ) index. Methods: Relatively well-preserved paraffin-embedded tissues of 120 cases of colon adenocarcinomas were immunohistochemically stained for fascin, MMP-9, and Topo II-αexpression. A reaction was determined as being positive when more than 10% of the cells were positive for fascin, and/or MMP-9. The Topo II-αindex is defined as the positive number of tumor cells divided by the total number of tumor cells counted times 100. At least 1,000 cells were counted for this analysis. A χ 2 test, by using Epi info 2000, for Fascin and/or MMP-9 and a two-sided test for the Topo II-αindex were employed with a significance of P<0.05. Results: Positive reactions for fascin and MMP-9 in colon adenocarcinomas were 44.2% and 56.7%, respectively. In clinically annotated tumors, fascin immunoreactivity was more common in tumors located in the right colon (P=0.014) and was associated with older age (>65 yr, P=0.028), tumor grading (P=0.009), and lymph node metastases (P=0.005). However, MMP-9 immunoreactivity was not statistically associated with age, gender, tumor stage, or lymph node metastases. Fascin expression was statistically associated with MMP-9 expression, especially for left colon adenocarcinomas (P=0.0032). Although the topo II-αproliferating index was associated with lymph node metastasis (P<0.01), this result was not statistically associated with Fascin or MMP-9 expression. Conclusion: Fascin expression may be closely linked with tumor grading and lymph node metastasis of more aggressive colon adenocarcinomas and partly associated with MMP-9 expression in tumor invasion. However, further studies of fascin expression as an independent prognostic factor are required for the determination of significant relationships with other clinicopathologic indices.