부산대학교 도서관

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prp.2005.07.003 Byline: Guven Aslan (a), Sertac Cimen (a), Kutsal Yorukoglu (b), Burcin Tuna (b), Devrim Sonmez (b), Ugur Mungan (a), Ilhan Celebi (a) Keywords: Prostate; Prostatic neoplasm; Angiogenesis; VEGF; Androgen deprivation therapy Abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate immunohistochemically the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in untreated and androgen-deprived patients with prostate cancer. The study included 20 patients with prostate cancer who had undergone transurethral prostatectomy due to infravesical obstruction. All patients had been receiving androgen deprivation therapy for at least 3 months. Transurethral prostatectomy specimens were examined for VEGF expression after androgen deprivation, and the biopsy samples of the same patients were used for the evaluation of VEGF expression before androgen deprivation. VEGF expression was analyzed using immunohistochemistry. Staining patterns determined by the staining scores were compared before and after treatment. The correlation of VEGF expression with PSA, Gleason score, and the percent change in PSA after treatment was also investigated. Eligible biopsy specimens were available in 15 of the 20 patients, allowing for the evaluation of VEGF expression before treatment. All prostate cancer specimens were positive. VEGF was localized mainly in the cytoplasm or on the membrane of carcinoma cells. Staining was strong in 86.7% of patients before androgen deprivation. Heterogeneous staining (strong in 25%, moderate in 35%, and weak in 40%) was observed after treatment. Staining scores were significantly higher in patients before androgen deprivation and showed a significant decrease after androgen deprivation (p=0.007). Tumor staining correlated with Gleason score. No significant correlation was determined between VEGF expression and pre-treatment PSA and percent change of PSA after treatment. Immunohistochemical results indicate that VEGF expression is downregulated by androgen deprivation therapy. VEGF may be a potential target for therapeutic intervention in prostate cancer. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Urology, Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey (b) Department Pathology, Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey Article History: Received 28 April 2004; Accepted 14 July 2005