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IGF-IEc expression is associated with advanced clinical and pathological stage of prostate cancer
Argyro Savvani1, Constantina Petraki, Pavlos Msaouel
1Department of Physiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Background:
Recent evidence suggests a role for the insulin-like growth factor-1Ec (IGF-IEc) transcript variant in cancer biology. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether IGF-IEc expression is associated with prostate cancer stage.
Materials And Methods:
Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded prostate cancer surgical specimens from 83 patients were assessed by immunohistochemistry for IGF-IEc expression.
Results:
Normal prostate epithelium was negative or demonstrated mild IGF-IEc cytoplasmic expression whereas prostate cancer exhibited mild to strong cytoplasmic immunoexpression. The mean IGF-1Ec expression, was significantly lower (p=0.004) in localized (stage ≤ IIb) prostate cancer, compared to locally advanced tumors (stage ≥ III). Only one out of 83 (1.2%) prostate cancer samples was completely negative for IGF-IEc. A weak-positive correlation was also observed between IGF-IEc expression levels and Gleason score (r=0.247; p=0.024).
Conclusion:
The present data demonstrate that the expression of IGF-IEc is positively-associated with more advanced stage and higher Gleason score of prostate carcinomas.
