Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
Institute for Applied Informatics, Research Centre Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany; Department of Urology, University Hospital of Ulm, Ulm, Germany; Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; Institute of Surgical Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
ERG rearrangements, mostly resulting in TMPRSS2-ERG fusions, are frequentalterations in prostate cancer (PCa), with a frequency ranging from 15% to 78%. As the reason for this variability is unknown, our aim was to investigate the ERG rearrangement frequency with a cohort design.
We assessed three well-defined cohorts for ERG rearrangements, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The first cohort comprised 119 prostatectomy specimens. The second and third cohorts included incidentally diagnosed PCa [71 cystoprostatectomy specimens, and 105 transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) specimens]. Seventy of 119 (59%) cases of the prostatectomy cohort harboured ERG rearrangements. Regarding zonal origin, 2/11 (18%) transition zone (TZ) foci and 75/145 (52%) peripheral zone (PZ) foci harboured ERG rearrangements. Within the cystoprostatectomies, 24/71 (34%) cases harboured ERG rearrangements. Regarding zonal origin, 2/9 (22%) TZ foci and 26/86 (30%) PZ foci harboured ERG rearrangements. PCa incidentally identified by TURP harboured ERG rearrangements in 31/105 (29%) cases.
ERG rearrangements occur in TZ PCa, although at a lower frequency than in PZ PCa. We confirmed that approximately half of all prostatectomies harbour ERG rearrangements. However, the frequency in incidentally diagnosed PCa cohorts was significantly lower, even if multifocality was considered. Consequently, zonal origin and cohort design are key for studying the clinical implications of ERG rearrangements.
Written by:
Braun M, Scheble VJ, Menon R, Scharf G, Wilbertz T, Petersen K, Beschorner C, Reischl M, Kuefer R, Schilling D, Stenzl A, Kristiansen G, Rubin MA, Fend F, Perner S. Are you the author?
Reference: Histopathology. 2011 Jun;58(7):1028-1036.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2011.03862.x
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 21707704
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