Abstract

The discovery of recurrent gene fusions in a majority of prostate cancers has important clinical and biological implications in the study of common epithelial tumours. Gene fusion and chromosomal rearrangements were previously thought to be primarily the oncogenic mechanism of haematological malignancies and sarcomas. The prostate cancer gene fusions that have been identified thus far are characterized by 5' genomic regulatory elements, most commonly controlled by androgen, fused to members of the Ets family of transcription factors, leading to the overexpression of oncogenic transcription factors. Ets gene fusions probably define a distinct class of prostate cancer, and this might have a bearing on diagnosis, prognosis and rational therapeutic targeting.

Author affiliations

1. Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, 1400 East Medical Center Drive, 5316 CCGC, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0602, USA.
2. Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, 1400 East Medical Center Drive, 5316 CCGC, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0602, USA.
3. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan Medical School, 1400 East Medical Center Drive, 5316 CCGC, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0602, USA.
4. Department of Urology, University of Michigan Medical School, 1400 East Medical Center Drive, 5316 CCGC, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0602, USA.
5. Department of Urology, and the Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Michigan Medical School, 1400 East Medical Center Drive, 5316 CCGC, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0602, USA.

Correspondence to: Arul M. Chinnaiyan^1,2,3,4,5 Email: arul@med.umich.edu

Published online 19 June 2008

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