Identification and characterization of nodal metastases in prostate cancer patients at high risk for lymph node involvement

Figures & data

Figure 1. Scoring of immunohistochemical staining for E-cadherin. E-cadherin staining intensity was scored as (a) negative/weak, (b) moderate or (c) strong. The E-cadherin staining pattern was annotated as homogeneous (c) or heterogeneous (d), respectively.

Table I. Patient and disease characteristics.

	Patients with negative LN (n = 38)	Patients with positive LN (n = 37)	Total (n = 75)
Age, year (median + range)	66 (52–73)	66 (49–74)	66 (49–74)
Preoperative PSA, ng/ml (median + range)	10.1 (1.5–70.9)	10.6 (5.0–25.0)	10.4 (1.5–70.9)
Clinical T-stage (2002 TNM) 1c 2a 2b 2c 3a 3b 4	0 (0) 1 (2.6) 2 (5.3) 11 (28.9) 23 (60.5) 1 (2.6) 0 (0)	1 (2.7) 1 (2.7) 1 (2.7) 3 (8.1) 20 (54.1) 10 (27.0) 1 (2.7)	1 (1.3) 2 (2.7) 3 (4.0) 14 (18.7) 43 (57.3) 11 (14.7) 1 (1.3)
Biopsy Gleason score 6 7 (3 + 4) 7 (4 + 3) 8 9 (4 + 5) 9 (5 + 4) 10	2 (5.3) 16 (42.1) 6 (15.8) 9 (23.7) 3 (7.9) 2 (5.3) 0 (0)	0 (0) 7 (18.9) 11 (29.7) 12 (32.4) 6 (16.2) 0 (0) 1 (2.7)	2 (2.7) 23 (30.7) 17 (22.7) 21 (28.0) 9 (12.0) 2 (2.7) 1 (1.3)
RP pathologic T-stage (2002 TNM) 2b 2c 3a 3b 4	2 (5.3) 24 (63.2) 10 (26.3) 0 (0) 2 (5.3)	0 (0) 7 (18.9) 10 (27.0) 19 (51.4) 1 (2.7)	2 (2.7) 31 (41.3) 20 (26.7) 19 (25.3) 3 (4.0)
RP pathologic Gleason score 7 (3 + 4) 7 (4 + 3) 8 9 (4 + 5) 9 (5 + 4) 10	15 (39.5) 16 (42.1) 2 (5.3) 4 (10.5) 1 (2.6) 0 (0)	3 (8.1) 9 (24.3) 12 (32.4) 11 (29.7) 1 (2.7) 1 (2.7)	18 (24.0) 25 (33.3) 14 (18.7) 15 (20.0) 2 (2.7) 1 (1.3)
Tumor volume (median + range) Relative (%) Absolute (ml)	6.4 (0.4–19.4) 2.6 (0.3–10.7)	9.2 (0.9–37.0) 4.2 (0.9–24.0)	7.1 (0.4–37.0) 3.4 (0.3–24.0)
Nodes examined per patient (median + range)	21 (7–42)	21 (10–49)	21 (7–49)

LN, lymph node; PSA, prostate-specific antigen; RP, radical prostatectomy.

Numbers between parentheses are percentages unless indicated otherwise.

Table II. Preoperative plasma and serum levels of potential markers for nodal staging.

	Patients with negative LN (n = 26)	Patients with positive LN (n = 21)	Total (n = 47)
Endoglin^1, ng/ml	4.5 (2.9–6.2)	4.6 (2.9–6.1)	4.6 (2.9–6.2)
Osteopontin^1, ng/ml	76.9 (39.2–159.1)	71.7 (34.8–187.9)	73.4 (34.8–187.9)
sE-cadherin^2, mg/ml	4.2 (2.9–12.8)	4.4 (3.0–11.6)	4.2 (2.9–12.8)
sVCAM-1^1, ng/ml	652.9 (259.0–1241.4)	624.5 (441.2–1358.4)	624.5 (259.0–1358.4)
TGF-β1^2, ng/ml	18.6 (7.2–43.4)	27.2 (9.1–45.7)	21.0 (7.2–45.7)
VEGF^1, pg/ml	82.8 (12.7–289.5)	85.4 (24.6–218.9)	85.4 (12.7–289.5)

¹plasma levels; ²serum levels; s, soluble; TGF-β1, tumor growth factor 1; VCAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.

All data are presented as median (range).

Table III. E-cadherin staining biopsies and radical prostatectomy specimens.

	Biopsy			RP specimen
	pN0 (n = 32)	pN1 (n = 30)	Total (n = 62)	pN0 (n = 37)	pN1 (n = 37)	Total (n = 74)
Staining intensity
Negative/weak	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	2 (5.4)	3 (8.1)	5 (6.8)
Moderate	1 (3.1)	4 (13.3)	5 (8.1)	5 (13.5)	5 (13.5)	10 (13.5)
Strong	31 (96.9)	26 (86.7)	57 (91.9)	30 (81.1)	29 (78.4)	59 (79.7)
Staining pattern
Homogeneous	23 (71.9)	23 (76.7)	46 (74.2)	26 (70.3)	22 (59.5)	48 (64.9)
Heterogeneous	9 (28.1)	7 (23.3)	16 (25.8)	11 (29.7)	15 (40.4)	26 (35.1)

RP, radical prostatectomy; pN0, patients with negative lymph nodes; pN1, patients with positive lymph nodes.

Numbers between parentheses are column percentages.

Table IV. E-cadherin staining lymph node metastases.

	ITC (n = 10)	Micro (n = 47)	Macro (n = 47)	Total (n = 104)
Staining intensity
Negative/weak	6 (60.0)	19 (40.4)	23 (48.9)	48 (46.2)
Moderate	3 (30.0)	11 (23.4)	12 (25.5)	26 (25.0)
Strong	1 (10.0)	17 (36.2)	12 (25.5)	30 (28.9)
Staining pattern*
Homogeneous	9 (90.0)	31 (66.0)	8 (17.0)	48 (46.2)
Heterogeneous	1 (10.0)	16 (34.0)	39 (83.0)	56 (53.9)

ITC, isolated tumor cells; Macro, macrometastases; Micro, micrometastasis.

*, p-value < 0.0001 (χ²). Numbers between parentheses are column percentages.