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Clinical significance of ERG rearrangement subtype and its association with increased p53 expression in Japanese and German prostate cancer

J. NISHIJIMA, T. HARA, K. IKEMOTO, A. OGA, K. KOBAYASHI, Y. KAWAI, H. MATSUMOTO, K. NAGAO, K. SASAKI, V. GKOLEIZAKIS, J. FICHTNER, H. MATSUYAMA

Abstract:

This study investigated differences in prevalence of the androgen-regulated transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and ETS transcription factor family member, v-ets erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog (ERG) fusion gene (TMPRSS2-ERG fusions) in clinically localized prostate cancer Japanese and German patients. A total of 105 specimens, including 69 Japanese and 36 German patients, were collected. The status of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization, and correlations of the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion with clinicopathological characteristics and immunohistochemistry were studied. Gene fusions were identified in 20% (14/69) of Japanese and 53% (19/36) of German patients (P The difference in the type of gene fusion between the two ethnic groups was statistically significant (P=0.024). Overexpression of ERG protein was significantly associated with gene fusion. Biochemical recurrence was significantly higher in patients with ERG overexpression than in those without, and not related to TMPRSS2-ERG fusion status. Interestingly, two types of gene fusions (deletion and increase of copy number) were significantly associated with increased p53 expression (P = 0.005). Association of specific gene fusions harboring higher genomic alterations with p53 expression levels suggests that p53 mutation might drive more aggressive arrangements of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion in prostate cancer.

Issue: 2/2015

Volume: 2015

Pages: 278 — 287

DOI: 10.4149/neo_2015_033

Pubmed

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