title: Androgen receptor levels in prostate cancer epithelial and peritumoral stromal cells identify non-organ confined disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although up to 30% of men who undergo radical prostatectomy for clinically organ-confined prostate cancer will relapse with disseminated disease, currently it is not possible to predict these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Androgen receptor (AR) immunoreactivity in stromal and epithelial compartments of tumor foci was evaluated by video image analysis in 53 radical prostatectomy specimens. Kaplan-Meier and Cox Regression analyses were used to determine whether AR immunostaining was related to rate and risk of relapse, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-eight percent (52/53) of the tumors contained AR positive malignant epithelial cells. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high AR levels (>64% AR positive nuclear area) in the malignant epithelial cells or low AR levels (<or=45% AR positive nuclear area) in the peritumoral stroma cells, were more likely to relapse earlier following radical prostatectomy. The shortest time to relapse and the highest relapse rate was for patients with both high AR in the malignant epithelial cells and low AR in the peritumoral stromal cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that AR is an important determinant of disease relapse in early stage prostate cancer, and that altered AR levels in the malignant epithelial cells or in the peritumoral stroma is indicative of non-organ confined prostate cancer.
authors.affiliation: Dame Roma Mitchell Cancer Research Laboratories, Hanson Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ricciardelli
authors.forename: Catherine S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Choong
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buchanan
authors.forename: Suchindra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vivekanandan
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neufing
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.forename: Villis R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Horsfall
authors.forename: Wayne D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Tilley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011467:Prostate / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000378:metabolism*; D012008:Recurrence; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D011944:Receptors, Androgen