VALIDATION OF PROSTATE CANCER ONCOGENES

We propose the creation of a comprehensive tissue microarray consisting of all pathologic stages of adenocarcinoma of the prostate as a tool for testing promising cellular markers - genes and proteins that will serve as an aid to researchers in validating the potential usefulness of any given marker. We propose to create this tissue microarray and test its usefulness by observing the differential expression of two specific markers -prostate stem-cell antigen (PSCA) and p27 protein. PSCA is a cell surface antigen expressed in normal prostate and overexpressed in prostate cancer tissues directly correlating with Gleason score. Conversely, an absence of or decrease in the p27 protein in prostate cancer biopsies prior to treatment has been associated with a shorter time to recurrent disease after curative therapy. Currently, there exists no comprehensive data for either of these markers relative to all pathologic stages of prostate cancer. Consequently, we propose to utilize tissue microarray technology to rapidly screen multiple prostate cancer samples for the levels of these markers. Correlations to metastatic potential and patient outcomes will be determined.