TWIST overexpression predicts biochemical recurrence-free survival in prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy

Abstract

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine whether TWIST and androgen receptor (AR) expression can predict the outcome in radical prostatectomy (RP) patients. Material and methods. Samples from different tumour areas of 181 prostate cancer patients were analysed for TWIST and AR expression, and the results were correlated with known clinicopathological data and biochemical recurrence-free survival (BFS). Results. TWIST overexpression in the margin area of the tumour (M-TWIST) was related to positive surgical margin (p = 0.047), capsule invasion (p = 0.006) and biochemical recurrence (BCR) (p = 0.004). AR expression in the margin area of the tumour (M-AR) was associated with high Gleason score (p = 0.004), positive surgical margin (p = 0.004) and BCR (p = 0.05). M-TWIST overexpression was clearly associated with M-AR expression (p < 0.0001). Four parameters, i.e. M-TWIST overexpression (p < 0.0001), positive surgical margin (p = 0.003), high Gleason score (p < 0.0001) and M-AR expression (p = 0.008), predicted BFS. In the multivariate analysis, M-TWIST overexpression (p = 0.011) and Gleason score (p = 0.002) were the only independent predictors of BFS. Conclusions. M-TWIST overexpression is associated with clinicopathological prognosis factors and M-AR overexpression and is a powerful independent predictor of BFS in conjunction with the Gleason score in prostate cancer patients treated with RP.

Key Words:

• androgen receptor
• prognosis
• prostate cancer
• radical prostatectomy
• TWIST

Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Finnish Cancer Society, the Finnish Anti-Tuberculosis Association and the strategic funding of the University of Eastern Finland.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.