Overexpression of BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 in prostatectomy specimens is predictive of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy

• Published in: Histopathology Vol. 68; no. 5; pp. 673 - 679
• Main Authors: Kim, Sung Han, Park, Weon Seo, Yun, Soo In, Joo, Jungnam, Joung, Jae Young, Seo, Ho Kyung, Chung, Jinsoo, Lee, Geon Kook, Lee, Kang Hyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.2016
• ISSN: 0309-0167; 1365-2559
• DOI: 10.1111/his.12809

Aims To investigate the protein expressions of breast cancer 1 ( BRCA 1) and 2 ( BRCA 2) in prostatectomy specimens of localized prostate cancer ( PC ) patients, along with their associations with cancer characteristics and prognosis. Methods and results Immunohistochemistry for BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 was performed on tissue microarrays of 510 PC cases treated from 2002 to 2012. The cytoplasmic immunoreactivity was scored for intensity, and clinicopathological parameters, including biochemical recurrence ( BCR ), were evaluated. During a median follow‐up of 44 months, 128 patients developed BCR , with positive staining rates of 93.3% ( n = 476) and 41.6% ( n = 212) for BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, respectively, in the malignant tissues. The BRCA 2 expression differed significantly between BCR ‐positive and BCR ‐free cases [hazard ratio ( HR ): 1.75, P = 0.002]. BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 correlated significantly with age [odds ratio ( OR ): 0.131] and pN stage ( OR : 6.00), pN stage ( OR : 1.717) and BCR ( OR : 1.972), respectively ( P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that BRCA 1 ( HR : 0.435), BRCA 2 ( HR : 2.45), pT 3 stage ( HR : 2.253), resection margin positivity ( HR : 1.58), prostate size ( HR : 0.975) and Gleason score ( HR : 2.214–2.253) were independent predictors of BCR ( P < 0.05). Moreover, BRCA 2 correlated significantly with BCR ‐free survival ( P = 0.0017). Conclusions BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 overexpression is a significant predictive factor for BCR in PC patients.