Prognostic potential of ERG (ETS-related gene) expression in prostatic adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Purpose Following patients after prostatectomy can be expensive and stressful, therefore, a novel and reliable approach to improve stratification is needed both at diagnosis of PCa and following its treatment. We evaluate the association of both ERG and claudin-4, -5 and betacatenin expression in tumor tissues of patients with organ confined and advanced prostatic adenocarcinomas. Methods A total of 30 patients were included in the study. Nine men, who underwent radical prostatectomy for organ confined (pT2N0M0) cancer (OCC); 11 patients with clinically advanced cancer (CAC); and 11 controls with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Using immunohistochemistry applied to tissue microarrays, each group was evaluated for beta-catenin, claudin-4, -5 and ERG expression. Results The expression of ERG was higher in the CAC group as compared to OCC and BPH (p = 0.7684, p = 0.0224, respectively). Among these patients, 5 from the CAC (45%) and 5 from the OCC group (56%) stained positively for ERG (p = 1.0). The mean staining score for those with ERG+ advanced cancer was greater than that for the ERG+ organ-confined cancer (p = 0.0209). ERG staining correlated with Gleason score (Pearson correlation: 0.498, p = 0.0051), but not with serum PSA level (Pearson correlation: 0.404, p = 0.1202). When analyzing outcome data high ERG expressing tumors have shown a significantly worse overall survival (p = 0.0084). Conclusions Our results of presence or absence of claudin-4 and -5 and ERG staining intensities suggest their potential as prognostic factors for prostate cancer.

Predicting Prostate Cancer Progression as a Function of ETS-related Gene Status, Race, and Obesity in a Longitudinal Patient Cohort

“…While a significant association was also observed between ERG-negative index tumor status and metastatic progression, very few patients developed metastasis (n = 40; median follow-up time = 5 yr); therefore, these data are not included in this report. Both positive and negative correlations between ERG status and CaP outcomes have been reported in literature, likely due to cohort selection, as exemplified in this study, showing a potential interaction of age, race, obesity, tumor molecular subtype (ERG-positive or ERG-negative status), and other as-yet-unknown potential biological factors [28]. Interactions of ERG and obesity are also not clear due to apparent discrepancies between two studies [21,24].…”

Frequency of ERG-positive prostate carcinoma in Poland

“…Also, they failed to see ERG expression in PIN. Szasz et al in a small study [14] found a positive correlation between ERG expression and Gleason grade; they also observed more ERG-positive cases in advanced cancers than in prostate-confined ones. These results are very similar to the relationships seen in our material.…”

Transcriptional silencing of ETS-1 abrogates epithelial-mesenchymal transition resulting in reduced motility of pancreatic cancer cells

“…The prognosis of patients with clinically aggressive pancreatic cancer cannot be accurately predicted by standard variables such as pathologic stage; thus other biomarkers are needed. Expression of transcription factors associated with metastasis have shown promise as prognostic biomarkers ( 25 , 26 ). Little is known, however, regarding the expression of transcription factors involved in the processes regulating invasion and metastasis in pancreatic cancer.…”