Abstract 4683: Correlation of transcript levels of members of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator system with clinico-pathological parameters in prostate cancer .

Abstract

Abstract Background: Members of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) system play an important role in tumor progression and angiogenesis in different human malignancies including breast, kidney, colon, stomach and prostate cancer (PCa). Aim of the study was to characterize mRNA expression levels of members of the uPA system in tissue specimens from primary PCa and their potential association with clinico-pathological parameters. Methods: Transcript levels of members of the uPA system, i.e., uPA, uPA receptor (uPAR) and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) were analyzed in a cohort of 132 corresponding pairs of malignant and adjacent non-malignant prostate tissue samples. Relative gene expression levels were determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and normalized to the reference gene TATA-box-binding protein (TBP). Potential correlations between the three markers themselves and the clinico-pathological parameters were assessed by Spearman's Rho test and by Fisher's exact test. Results: There were no significant differences in expression levels of uPA system genes between the corresponding malignant and non-malignant tissue specimens. Transcript levels of all members of the uPA system displayed a significant correlation with each other in the tumor tissues. At stratifying uPA, uPAR and PAI-1 expression levels by the median a significant correlation between an elevated expression of uPA and PAI-1 was correlated with higher Gleason score (P = 0.001 and P = 0.007). In addition, a significant positive correlation between uPAR transcript levels and tumor stage was detected (P = 0.025). Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that mRNA expression levels of members of the uPA system correlated with each other and with clinico-pathological parameters. We suggest that transcript levels of uPA system members can be helpful markers for the study of tumor behavior of prostate cancer. Citation Format: Omar Al-Janabi, Helge Taubert, Sven Wach, Robert Stöhr, Maximilian Burger, Wolf Ferdinand Wieland, Andrea Lohse-Fischer, Michael Fröhner, Manfred P. Wirth, Bernd Wullich, Viktor Magdolen, Matthias Kotzsch, Susanne Fuessel. Correlation of transcript levels of members of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator system with clinico-pathological parameters in prostate cancer . [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4683. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4683