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. 2000 Aug 17;83(6):761–768. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2000.1355

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

S-J Chia 1, W-Y Tang 2, J Elnatan 2, W-M Yap 3, H-S Goh 2, D R Smith 2
PMCID: PMC2363530  PMID: 10952781

Abstract

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 mutated ras genes, 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 both ras(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 (P< 0.005) and specifically in Chinese patients (P< 0.02). Apoptotic cells were found in 61% of samples, and were significantly associated with the presence of bax expression (P= 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

Keywords: immunohistochemistry, mutation, bax, bcl-2, p53, survival

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Selected References

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