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Clinical Research

Prostate biopsies from black men express higher levels of aggressive disease biomarkers than prostate biopsies from white men

Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases volume 14, pages 262–265 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

A wide array of biomarkers is being investigated as predictors of prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and recurrence. We compared the expression of a small panel of these biomarkers as a function of race among men undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP). Prostate needle biopsy specimens from 131 patients treated with RP at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center were hematoxylin and eosin stained and immunofluorescent assayed for α-methylacyl CoA racemase (AMACR), androgen receptor (AR) and Ki67. Proprietary image analysis was used to identify six biometric feature combinations that were significantly associated with progression in a previous study. Analysis of population characteristics, stratified by race, was performed using rank-sum and χ2-test. The effect of race on expression of these biomarker profiles was analyzed using multivariate linear regression. All six biomarker features were expressed at higher levels in black men than white men, with Norm AR (P=0.006) and Ki67 (P=0.02) attaining statistical significance. On multivariate analysis, all markers were expressed at higher levels in black men, with Norm AR (P=0.001), Ki67 (P=0.007) and Ki67/lum (P=0.022) reaching significance. These data support the hypothesis that PCa may be biologically more aggressive among black men.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by Aureon Biosciences, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program, and the American Urological Association Foundation/Astellas Rising Star in Urology Award. Views and opinions of and endorsements by the author(s) do not reflect those of the US Army or the Department of Defense.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Urologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, and the Duke Prostate Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA

    H S Kim, D M Moreira, J Jayachandran, L Gerber, L L Bañez & S J Freedland

  2. Urology Section, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    H S Kim, D M Moreira, J Jayachandran, L Gerber, L L Bañez & S J Freedland

  3. Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA

    R T Vollmer, A L Lark & S J Freedland

  4. Department of Pathology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    R T Vollmer & A L Lark

  5. Aureon Biosciences, Yonkers, NY, USA

    M J Donovan, D Powell & F M Khan

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  1. H S Kim
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Correspondence to S J Freedland.

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Dr Freedland is a speaker for Aureon Biosciences and Drs Donovan, Powell and Khan are employees of Aureon Biosciences. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Kim, H., Moreira, D., Jayachandran, J. et al. Prostate biopsies from black men express higher levels of aggressive disease biomarkers than prostate biopsies from white men. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 14, 262–265 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/pcan.2011.18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pcan.2011.18

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