Combined c‐Myc and caveolin‐1 expression in human prostate carcinoma predicts prostate carcinoma progression

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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Over‐expression of the oncogene c‐Myc has been implicated in the development and progression of human prostate carcinoma. However, previous assessments of c‐Myc expression have not revealed its potential for predicting prostate carcinoma progression. Caveolin‐1 is associated with prostate carcinoma progression and is a downstream target gene of c‐Myc. The observation that caveolin‐1 can suppress c‐Myc‐induced apoptosis suggested the potential for cooperation between c‐Myc and caveolin‐1 in malignant progression. In this study, the authors evaluated the prognostic potential of combined c‐Myc and caveolin‐1 expression in human prostate carcinoma progression.METHODS: Immunostaining with c‐Myc and caveolin‐1‐specific antibodies was performed on paraffin sections from 104 radical prostatectomy specimens from men with lymph node negative prostate carcinoma. Combined c‐Myc and caveolin‐1 immunostaining scores were related with the clinical and pathologic features and the probability of prostate‐specific antigen recurrence after surgery.RESULTS: The combination of c‐Myc and caveolin‐1 immunopositivity correlated positively with Gleason score (ρ = 0.219;P= 0.0253) and positive surgical margin (ρ = 0.333;P= 0.0006). The combination of positive c‐Myc and caveolin‐1 in patients with clinically confined prostate carcinoma was a significant prognostic marker for the time to disease progression after surgery in both univariate analysis (P= 0.0039; hazard ratio, 3.035) and multivariate analysis (P= 0.0114; hazard ratio, 2.916).CONCLUSIONS: The coexpression of c‐Myc and caveolin‐1 showed potential as a useful prognostic marker for human prostate carcinoma. The current results suggest interactions between c‐Myc and caveolin‐1 in the progression of human prostate carcinoma. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.