Correlation of testosterone and ESR2 in prostate cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa), as the second most frequent cancer in males, has a significant challenge in determining differential diagnosis and prognosis of aggressive or non-aggressive prostate cancer. For functioning correctly, the prostate needs sex steroid hormones, which are also factors in the initiation and progression of carcinogenesis. Risk and Gleason score upgrading can be predicted by preoperative plasma testosterone levels in men with prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy. Not only testosterone but estrogen also has roles in prostate cancer carcinogenesis. Estrogen Receptor 2 (ESR2) gene has been found to encode ER-β, which has an anti-proliferative effect on prostate tissue. This study aims to look up any correlation between testosterone and ESR2 in prostate cancer. Methods: This is an analytic cross-sectional study. We conducted a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) examination involving 15 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), 10 non-metastasized PCa, and 21 PCa patients for determining ESR2 expression from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) prostate cancer tissue with known testosterone level in our institution. Data were analyzed using statistical tests with a significance of p <0.05. Results: The mean testosterone level and ESR2 expression are 785 ng/dl and 236.4 ng/dl 4.6 8.2, respectively, in BPH and PCa. Statistically, there was an inverse correlation between testosterone and ESR2 levels in prostate cancer (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study found lower testosterone correlates with ESR2 modulation.