Rb. Myers et al., ELEVATED SERUM LEVELS OF P105(ERBB-2) IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED-STAGEPROSTATIC ADENOCARCINOMA, International journal of cancer, 69(5), 1996, pp. 398-402
Expression of a truncated or extracellular form (p105(erbB-2)) of p185
(erbB-2) has been demonstrated in the sera of breast cancer patients.
We examined the levels of p105(erbB-2) in, the sera of patients with v
arious stages of prostatic adenocarcinoma, in patients with benign pro
static hyperplasia (BPH) and in a series of control male patients hosp
italized for illnesses unrelated to the prostate. p105(erbB-2) levels
did not differ between the controls and BPH patients or between these
groups and patients with stage A, B or C adenocarcinomas. In contrast,
serum p105(erbB-2) levels of patients with stage D adenocarcinomas we
re significantly elevated when compared with either control or BPH pat
ients. There was no correlation between PSA and p105(erbB-2) levels am
ong controls, patients with BPH or patients with prostate cancer. Pati
ents with poorly differentiated tumors (combined Gleason score >7) or
moderately differentiated tumors (combined Gleason scare 5-7) had high
er p105(erbB-2) levels as compared to patients with well-differentiate
d tumors (combined Gleason score <5), though this difference was not s
tatistically significant. There was no correlation between serum p105(
erbB-2) levels and p185(erbB-2) expression in malignant tissue, as det
ermined by immunohistochemistry. However, patients with moderate to st
rong expression of p185(erbB-2) within the adenocarcinomas were approx
imately 4 times more likely to demonstrate elevated serum p105(erbB-2)
levels as compared with patients with low expression of p185(erbB-2).
(C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.