title: Overexpression of C-MYC oncogene in prostate cancer predicts biochemical recurrence.
abstract: Alterations of chromosome 8, including amplification at 8q24 harboring the C-MYC oncogene, have been noted as one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities in prostate cancer (CaP) progression. However, the frequency of C-MYC alterations in CaP has remained uncertain. A recent study, using a new anti-MYC antibody, described prevalent upregulation of nuclear C-MYC protein expression as an early oncogenic alteration in CaP. Further, we have recently reported regulation of C-MYC expression by ERG and a significant correlation between C-MYC overexpression and TMPRSS2-ERG fusion in early stage CaP. These emerging data suggest that increased C-MYC expression may be a critical and early oncogenic event driving CaP progression. In this study, we assessed whether C-MYC mRNA overexpression in primary prostate tumors was predictive of more aggressive tumor or disease progression. Our approach was to quantitatively determine C-MYC mRNA expression levels in laser capture micro-dissected tumor cells and matched benign epithelial cells in a radical prostatectomy cohort with long follow-up data available. On the basis of our results, we conclude that elevated C-MYC expression in primary prostate tumor is biologically relevant and may be a predictor of future biochemical recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Urology Service, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hawksworth
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ravindranath
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Furusato
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Sesterhenn
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: McLeod
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Petrovics
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D016259:Genes, myc; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009857:Oncogenes / Q000235:genetics; D011379:Prognosis; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D012008:Recurrence; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C489427:MYC protein, human; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D012333:RNA, Messenger