Combined c-Myc and caveolin-1 expression in human prostate carcinoma predicts prostate carcinoma progression.
BACKGROUND
Over-expression of the oncogene c-Myc has been implicated in the development and progression of human prostate carcinoma. However, previous assessments of c-Myc expression have not revealed its potential for predicting prostate carcinoma progression. Caveolin-1 is associated with prostate carcinoma progression and is a downstream target gene of c-Myc. The observation that caveolin-1 can suppress c-Myc-induced apoptosis suggested the potential for cooperation between c-Myc and caveolin-1 in malignant progression. In this study, the authors evaluated the prognostic potential of combined c-Myc and caveolin-1 expression in human prostate carcinoma progression.


METHODS
Immunostaining with c-Myc and caveolin-1-specific antibodies was performed on paraffin sections from 104 radical prostatectomy specimens from men with lymph node negative prostate carcinoma. Combined c-Myc and caveolin-1 immunostaining scores were related with the clinical and pathologic features and the probability of prostate-specific antigen recurrence after surgery.


RESULTS
The combination of c-Myc and caveolin-1 immunopositivity correlated positively with Gleason score (rho = 0.219; P = 0.0253) and positive surgical margin (rho = 0.333; P = 0.0006). The combination of positive c-Myc and caveolin-1 in patients with clinically confined prostate carcinoma was a significant prognostic marker for the time to disease progression after surgery in both univariate analysis (P = 0.0039; hazard ratio, 3.035) and multivariate analysis (P = 0.0114; hazard ratio, 2.916).


CONCLUSIONS
The coexpression of c-Myc and caveolin-1 showed potential as a useful prognostic marker for human prostate carcinoma. The current results suggest interactions between c-Myc and caveolin-1 in the progression of human prostate carcinoma.
Yang
Guang
G
Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Timme
Terry L
TL
Frolov
Anna
A
Wheeler
Thomas M
TM
Thompson
Timothy C
TC
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D051242:Caveolin 1; D022461:Caveolins / Q000032:analysis*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000378:metabolism*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016019:Survival Analysis; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C495540:CAV1 protein, human; D051242:Caveolin 1; D022461:Caveolins; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc