Pk. Majumder et al., ANDROGEN RECEPTOR TRANSCRIPT LEVEL IN BENIGN HYPERTROPHY AND CARCINOMA OF THE HUMAN PROSTATE, Urologia internationalis, 59(4), 1997, pp. 231-235
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.