ANDROGEN RECEPTOR TRANSCRIPT LEVEL IN BENIGN HYPERTROPHY AND CARCINOMA OF THE HUMAN PROSTATE

Objective: Current reports suggest the presence of androgen receptor ( AR) defects in prostate cancer. We have detected the AR mRNA in normal , benign hypertrophied (BPH) and carcinomatous (CaP) prostate tissues and evaluated the difference in the level of AR transcript in these gr oups. Materials and Methods: Cytoplasmic dot hybridization assay was u sed to measure the levels of AR mRNA in 21 normal, 45 BPH and 30 CaP s pecimens. Tissue samples of 14 CaP patients receiving endocrine treatm ent were also analyzed. Blots were autoradiographed and the intensity of the signal was measured by densitometry. Results and Conclusions: T he majority of cases in all the 3 groups were positive for the AR mRNA . All the patients who had received endocrine treatment were also posi tive for the AR mRNA. The level of the AR mRNA was significantly highe r in BPH and treated CaP cases as compared to normal cases (p < 0.05). Among the CaP cases the level of AR transcript was significantly high er in the treated group as compared to the untreated group.