Prostate tumours from an Asian population: examination of bax, bcl-2, p53 and ras and identification of bax as a prognostic marker

摘要

Molecular studies have suggested that ethnicity may play a significant role in prostate tumorigenesis, but no information exists for groups other than Caucasian or Japanese patients. We examined 62 archival samples of prostate tumours from Asians of non-Japanese origin for the over-expression of p53, for the possible presence of mutatedrasgenes, for the overexpression of the bcl-2 and bax proteins, as well as directly for the presence of apoptotic cells by the TUNEL methodology. Gene lesions of bothras(0%) and p53 (3%) were rare. While bcl-2 expression was not observed in any sample, bax expression was noted in 76% of samples and was associated with a significantly worse patient prognosis both overall (PPP= 0.002), but not patient survival. These results suggest that prostate tumours from non-Japanese Asians are genetically distinct from prostate tumour found in both Japanese and Caucasian patients, and that treatment modalities may need to be tailored for specific population groups. ? 2000 Cancer Research Campaign