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Updated: Mar 10, 2026

Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer
Published on: November 2, 2013
Is There a Role for Genetic Information in Risk Assessment and Decision Making in Prostate Cancer?
Mohamadreza Nowroozi1, Mohsen Ayati1, Erfan Amini1
1Uro-Oncology Research Center (UORC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Objectives:
Prostate cancer is a neoplasm with a variable natural history and clinical behavior. There is much debate on the use of inherited genetic information in clinical application including risk assessment and treatment decisions. This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between clinical parameters of prostate cancer (PSA, Gleason score, and metastasis) and expression of NKX3.1, AMACR, TMPRSS2-ERG, ERG, and SPINK1 genes.
Methods:
Newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer were selected for this study. Thirty four tissue samples were obtained via open radical prostatectomy and 9 samples were obtained via needle biopsy. Each tissue sample was sectioned into two parts, one used for detection of malignant changes and Gleason score determination, and the other immersed in RNA later solution (Qiagen). The expression of NKX3.1, AMACR, TMPRSS2-ERG, ERG, and SPINK1 genes were assessed by real-time PCR assay. Correlation between expression of each gene and PSA level, Gleason score, and presence of metastasis were examined.
Results:
A total number of 43 specimens were studied, from which 9 were obtained from patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The expression of five examined genes had no correlation with PSA level and Gleason score. The expression of AMACR decreased in metastatic prostate cancer (P = 0.02). The expression of other genes showed no difference between metastatic and non-metastatic tumors (P > 0.1).
Conclusions:
Genetic information combined with clinical data can be useful in risk assessment and treatment planning. Based on the results of the current study, the decreased expression of AMACR was a sign of poor prognosis.
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