About 20% of all human cancers are caused by chronic infection or chronic inflammatory states. Recently, a new hypothesis has been proposed for prostate carcinogenesis. It proposes that exposure to environmental factors such as infectious agents and dietary carcinogens, and hormonal imbalances lead to injury of the prostate and to the development of chronic inflammation and regenerative 'risk factor' lesions, referred to as proliferative inflammatory atrophy (PIA). By developing new experimental animal models coupled with classical epidemiological studies, genetic epidemiological studies and molecular pathological approaches, we should be able to determine whether prostate cancer is driven by inflammation, and if so, to develop new strategies to prevent the disease. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptNat Rev Cancer. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2013 January 23. $watermark-text $watermark-text $watermark-textProstate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous malignant neoplasm in men in Western countries, responsible for the deaths of approximately 30,000 men per year in the United States 1 . The number of afflicted men is increasing rapidly as the population of males over the age of 50 grows worldwide. Therefore, finding strategies for the prevention of prostate cancer is a crucial medical challenge. As men in South East Asian countries have a low incidence of prostate cancer that increases rapidly after immigration to the West, this disease is not an intrinsic feature of ageing. The pathogenesis of prostate cancer reflects both hereditary and environmental components. What are the environmental factors and genetic variations that have produced such an epidemic of prostate cancer? Approximately 20% of all human cancers in adults result from chronic inflammatory states and/or chronic inflammation 2-4 (BOX 1), which are triggered by infectious agents or exposure to other environmental factors, or by a combination thereof. There is also emerging evidence that inflammation is crucial for the aetiology of prostate cancer. This evidence stems from epidemiological, histopathological and molecular pathological studies. The objective of this Review is to take a multidisciplinary approach to present and analyse such studies. Because several reviews related to these topics have been published [5][6][7] , here we will focus on new findings and ideas with the purpose of sparking innovative areas of investigation that might ultimately lead to the prevention of prostate cancer. Enigmas in the aetiology of prostate cancerAs in other cancers, prostate cancer develops through the accumulation of somatic genetic and epigenetic changes, resulting in the inactivation of tumour-suppressor genes and caretaker genes, and the activation of oncogenes 8,9 (TABLE 1). There is also evidence for an underlying genetic instability that might facilitate tumour progression 10,11 . Although these genetic and epigenetic changes are crucial for our understanding of 'how' prostate cancer arises, another key remaining question is 'why'...

Study Type – Prognostic (case series) Level of Evidence 4 What’s known on the subject? and What does the study add? In general, tumour‐associated macrophage (TAM) is important for tumour progression including prostate cancer. In this paper, we clarified the usefulness of TAM in prostate biopsy specimens for predicting prognosis after hormonal therapy. OBJECTIVE • To evaluate tumour‐associated macrophage (TAM) infiltration in prostate biopsy specimens as a possible prognostic factor for prostate cancer (PCa) after hormonal therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS • Immunostaining of TAMs in prostate biopsy specimens was performed using a monoclonal antibody CD68 for 71 patients having PCa treated with hormonal therapy. • Six microscopic (×400) fields around the cancer foci were selected for TAM counting. RESULTS • The median value of serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) was 50.1 ng/mL, and the median TAM count was 22. • Recurrence‐free survival was significantly better in patients with fewer TAMs (<22) than in those with higher numbers of TAMs (≥22) (P < 0.001). • TAM count was higher in those with higher serum PSA (PSA), higher Gleason score, clinical T stage or those with PSA failure. Cox multivariate analysis showed that TAM count is one of the prognostic factors for PCa treated by hormonal therapy (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION • TAM infiltration in prostate needle biopsy specimens is a useful predictive factor for PSA failure or progression of PCa after hormonal therapy.

Alterations in methylation of CpG dinucleotides at the 5 position of deoxycytidine residues (5mC) are a hallmark of cancer cells, including testicular germ cell tumors. Virtually all testicular germ cell tumors are believed to be derived from intratubular germ cell neoplasia unclassified (IGCNU), which is thought to arise from primordial germ cells. Prior studies revealed that seminomas contain reduced levels of global DNA methylation as compared with nonseminomatous germ cell tumors. Smiraglia et al have proposed a model whereby seminomas arise from IGCNU cells derived from primordial germ cells that have undergone 5mC erasure, and nonseminomas arise from IGCNU cells derived from primordial germ cells that have already undergone de novo methylation after the original erasure of methylation and contain normal 5mC levels. Yet the methylation status of IGCNU has not been determined previously. We used immunohistochemical staining against 5mC to evaluate global methylation in IGCNU and associated invasive testicular germ cell tumors. Strikingly, staining for 5mC was undetectable (or markedly reduced) in the majority of IGCNU and seminomas, yet there was robust staining in nonseminomatous germ cell tumors. The lack of staining for 5mC in IGCNU and seminomas was also found in mixed germ cell tumors containing both seminomatous and nonseminomatous components. Lack of 5mC staining was not related to a lack of the maintenance methyltransferase (DNA methyltransferase 1) protein. We conclude that testicular germ cell tumors are derived in most cases from IGCNU cells that have undergone developmentally programmed 5mC erasure and that the degree of subsequent de novo methylation is most closely related to the differentiation state of the neoplastic cells. That is, IGCNU cells and seminoma cells remain unmethylated, whereas all other histological types appear to arise after de novo methylation.

No abstract

Mast cell infiltration is often observed around human tumours. Inflammatory cells such as macrophages, neutrophils and mast cells infiltrating around tumours are known to contribute to tumour growth; however, the clinical significance of mast cell invasion in prostate cancer (PCa) has not been investigated. Mast cell infiltration was evaluated in 104 patients (age range, 45 -88 years; median, 72 years), who underwent needle biopsy of the prostate and were confirmed to have PCa. Needle biopsy specimens of prostate were sliced into 5-mm-thick sections and immunostained for mast cells with monoclonal antibody against mast cell-specific tryptase. Mast cells were counted systematically under a microscope ( Â 400 magnification), and the relations between mast cell numbers and clinicopathologic findings were evaluated. The mast cell count was evaluated for prognostic value by multivariate analysis. Mast cells were immunostained around the cancer foci. The median number of mast cells in each case was 16. The mast cell count was higher around cancer foci in patients with higher Gleason scores than in those with low Gleason scores. The mast cell number correlated well with clinical stage (Po0.001). Prostate-specific antigen-free survival of patients with higher mast cell counts was better than that in patients with lower mast cell counts (Po0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that mast cell count was a significant prognostic factor (Po0.005). The number of mast cells infiltrating around cancer foci in prostate biopsy specimens can be a significant prognostic factor of PCa.