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Updated: Apr 7, 2026
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miRNA Expression Analyses in Prostate Cancer Clinical Tissues
Published on: September 8, 2015
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PSMA expression is highly homogenous in primary prostate cancer
Maria C Tsourlakis1, Franka Klein, Martina Kluth
1*Institute of Pathology †Martini-Clinic, Prostate Cancer Center ‡Department of Urology, Section for Translational Prostate Cancer Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Summary
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is highly expressed and consistently found in most prostate cancers. This high homogeneity supports PSMA
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunohistochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a potential target for prostate cancer antibody therapy.
- PSMA's role in cell migration suggests its involvement in cancer progression.
- Therapeutic efficacy can be limited by tumor heterogeneity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the heterogeneity of PSMA expression in prostate cancer.
- To assess the suitability of PSMA as a drug target.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a prostate cancer tissue microarray (TMA) with samples from 189 patients.
- Analyzed PSMA expression using immunohistochemistry on 1171 tissue spots.
Main Results:
- PSMA expression was detected in 97.6% of tissue spots and 99.4% of patients.
- Strong PSMA positivity was observed in 45.9% of spots.
- Homogeneous PSMA expression occurred in 93.6% of prostate cancers, with only 6.4% showing heterogeneity.
Conclusions:
- High frequency and homogeneity of PSMA expression in prostate cancer.
- PSMA expression may increase early in prostate cancer development.
- The consistent expression pattern strongly supports PSMA's utility as a therapeutic target.
