A significant proportion of prostatic adenocarcinomas show recurrent translocation leading to ERG expression. Previously we found that ERG+ cases have higher microvessel density than negative ones. One factor influencing angiogenesis in cancer is mast cells. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between microvessels, mast cells and ERG status. In summary, we demonstrated an interrelationship between mast cells, microvascular density and ERG status in prostatic carcinoma.
Prostatic carcinoma is the most frequent cancer in males in the Western world. A significant proportion of these cancers have a recurrent translocation involving ETS family genes, which leads to the overexpression of ERG transcription factor. Prostate cancers, which bear this mutation, differ in a number of features, including tumor microenvironment. One of the components of the tumor microenvironment is FOXP3 positive lymphocytes, which may participate in breaking immunosurveillance and promoting tumor growth. 2 for all cases, 21.43/ mm 2 for the ERG negative and 42.28/mm 2 for the ERG positive group (p < 0.02). There were no significant relationships between FOXP3 positive cell count and any other parameters studied. Our results suggest that the immune response may differ between ERG negative and ERG positive prostatic carcinomas.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.