Identification of the prostate cancer micro-foci with chromosome 8p deletion at the tumor interface area by histopathological-FISH parallel examination

We used a histopathological-fluorescence in situ hybridization (histo-FISH) parallel examination technique to identify the micro-foci of prostate canc er with chromosome 8p deletion at the interface area adjacent to the tumor. The archival paraffin embedded prostate tissue sections from 27 prostate c ancer patients were evaluated. Seventy-eight percent of the patients showed chromosome 8p deletion in the tumor sections. Eight of the 27 patients (30 %) had been found positive for tumor micro-foci with chromosome 8p deletion at the tumor interface area. There is a strong trend for patients with lat e stage tumors to have positive findings for tumor micro-foci at the interf ace area (p <0.002). Our data suggests that the formation of tumor micro-fo ci with chromosome 8p deletion and ploidy change at the interface area is a significant development in the advanced prostate cancer, and identificatio n of these micro-foci may serve as a prognostic parameter in the clinical a ssessment of prostate cancer patients.