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TMPRSS2-ERG and PTEN loss in prostate cancer

Nature Genetics volume 41, pages 509–510 (2009)Cite this article

Two studies show that the common recurrent gene fusion between TMPRSS2 and ERG promotes prostate cancer in both mouse and humans when PTEN is concurrently lost. In human prostate cancer, the presence of both these aberrations may be indicative of poor prognosis, suggesting that preclinical therapeutic research should target both of these pathways.

Recommendations over screening for early diagnosis of prostate cancer have recently gained attention, with increasing concern that the introduction of routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood testing has led to significant overtreatment of prostate cancer1. This debate highlights the need to better understand the primary molecular determinants that drive prostate cancer. Two papers on pages 524 and 619 of this issue2,3 now draw attention to a close collaboration between ETS transcription factors and the PTEN tumor suppressor, which together seem to be pivotal in both human and murine prostate cancer.

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Figure 1: A path to prostate cancer progression.

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  1. Jeremy A. Squire is in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and the NCIC Clinical Trials Group at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. squirej@queensu.ca,

    Jeremy A Squire

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  1. Jeremy A Squire
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Squire, J. TMPRSS2-ERG and PTEN loss in prostate cancer. Nat Genet 41, 509–510 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0509-509

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