QUANTITATIVE IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DETERMINATION OF CATHEPSIN-D LEVELS IN PROSTATIC-CARCINOMA BIOPSIES - CORRELATION WITH TUMOR GRADE, STAGE,PSA LEVEL, AND DNA-PLOIDY STATUS

National screening programs resulting in an increased detection rate o f prostatic adenocarcinoma have prompted the search for new methods of predicting disease outcome that can be applied to the initial narrow bore needle biopsy specimens. Cathepsin D, a lysosomal aspartyl protea se and autocrine mitogen, has been studied in a wide variety of human neoplasms as an invasion and metastasis marker. Prostatic carcinoma ne edle biopsy tumor cell cathepsin D content was measured in 61 men usin g a semiquantitative image analysis assisted immunohistochemical proce dure, Results were compared with preoperative serum prostatic specific antigen levels, tumor grade, DNA ploidy status, pathologic stage afte r radical prostatectomy and disease recurrence during a median 2.6 yea r follow-up. Biopsy cathepsin D levels significantly correlated with t umor grade (P = .022) and DNA ploidy status (P = .028) by logistic reg ression analysis. Post-prostatectomy pathologic stage and disease recu rrence did not correlate with tumor cathepsin D levels, Final prostate ctomy grade and DNA ploidy status independently predicted metastasis a nd post-operative disease recurrence (P < .001). Although this study d id not find independent prognostic status for cathepsin D in prostate cancer, the correlation with tumor grade and DNA ploidy status is note worthy and the inter-relationship of outcome variables may prove of in terest and warrant further evaluation of this potential predictor or C O-predictor of disease outcome.