An Examination of the Association between FOXA1 Staining Level and Biochemical Recurrence following Salvage Radiation Therapy for Recurrent Prostate Cancer

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 3; p. e0151785
• Main Authors: Heckman, Michael G, Robinson, Jessica L, Tzou, Katherine S, Parker, Alexander S, Wu, Kevin J, Hilton, Tracy W, Howat, William J, Miller, Jodi L, Kreinest, Pamela A, Pisansky, Thomas M, Schild, Steven E, Peterson, Jennifer L, Vallow, Laura A, Carroll, Jason S, Buskirk, Steven J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 17.03.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Aged; Algorithms; Analysis; Androgens; Background radiation; Binding sites; Biology; Cancer; Cancer recurrence; Cancer surgery; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Coloring Agents - therapeutic use; Combined Modality Therapy; Diagnosis; Health aspects; Health risks; Health sciences; Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alpha - physiology; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mens health; Metastasis; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - pathology; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - radiotherapy; Oncology; Patients; Physical Sciences; Prognosis; Prostate - pathology; Prostate - radiation effects; Prostate cancer; Prostatectomy; Prostatic Neoplasms - mortality; Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology; Prostatic Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Prostatic Neoplasms - surgery; Radiation; Radiation therapy; Research and Analysis Methods; Risk; Risk Factors; Salvage; Salvage Therapy - methods; Staining; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Studies; Survival Analysis; Transcription factors; Urological surgery; United States; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; Florida; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151785

Standardly collected clinical and pathological patient information has demonstrated only moderate ability to predict risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) of prostate cancer in men undergoing salvage radiation therapy (SRT) for a rising PSA after radical prostatectomy (RP). Although elevated FOXA1 staining has been associated with poor patient outcomes following RP, it has not been studied in the specific setting of SRT after RP. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between FOXA1 staining level and BCR after SRT for recurrent prostate cancer. A total of 141 men who underwent SRT at our institution were included. FOXA1 staining levels in primary tumor samples were detected using immunohistochemistry. FOXA1 staining percentage and intensity were measured and multiplied together to obtain a FOXA1 H-score (range 0-12) which was our primary staining measure. P-values ≤ 0.0056 were considered as statistically significant after applying a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. There was not a significant association between FOXA1 H-score and risk of BCR when considering H-score as an ordinal variable or as a categorical variable (all P ≥ 0.090). Similarly, no significant associations with BCR were observed for FOXA1 staining percentage or staining intensity (all P ≥ 0.14). FOXA1 staining level does not appear to have a major impact on risk of BCR after SRT.