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Immunocytochemical assay for androgen receptors in prostate cancer: A prospective study of 63 cases with long-term follow-up

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Abstract

Background: Numerous problems are associated with biochemical androgen receptor (AR) assay performance and interpretation in prostatic cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine if a novel immunocytochemical AR assay performed on intact tissue sections would prove useful in prognosticating endocrine response and survival.

Methods: A prospective study was done on 63 prostatic carcinomas maintained in liquid nitrogen for over a decade. The study used the peroxidaseantiperoxidase system and a polyclonal anti-AR antibody.

Results: Marked tissue and cellular heterogeneity of nuclear AR was apparent. A cut-off of 10% AR-positive cells maximized assay prognostic efficiency. Frequency of positivity was 48% and correlated significantly with endocrine response (p=0.03), time to progression (p=0.0016), and survival (p=0.02), but not with grade, stage, or ethnicity.

Conclusions: This AR assay could be prognostically useful in the clinical management of prostate cancer and is suitable for use in the community hospital laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. From the Department of Pathology, State University of New York, Brooklyn, New York

    Louis P. Pertschuk (DO), Dong S. Kim MD, Karen B. Eisenberg RN, MPS & Evelyn Rainford BA

  2. Department of Urology, State University of New York, Brooklyn, New York

    Richard J. Macchia MD

  3. Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, State University of New York, Brooklyn, New York

    Joseph G. Feldman DPH

  4. School of Medicine, Health Science Center, State University of New York, Brooklyn, New York

    Katherine A. Brady MD & Michael Levine MD

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Humana Hospital-Michael Reese, University of Illinois College of Medicine, USA

    Gail S. Prins PhD

  6. the Ben May Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ilinois, USA

    Geoffrey L. Greene PhD

Authors
  1. Louis P. Pertschuk
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  2. Richard J. Macchia MD
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  3. Joseph G. Feldman DPH
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  4. Katherine A. Brady MD
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  5. Michael Levine MD
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  6. Dong S. Kim MD
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  7. Karen B. Eisenberg RN, MPS
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  8. Evelyn Rainford BA
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  9. Gail S. Prins PhD
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  10. Geoffrey L. Greene PhD
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Pertschuk, L.P., Macchia, R.J., Feldman, J.G. et al. Immunocytochemical assay for androgen receptors in prostate cancer: A prospective study of 63 cases with long-term follow-up. Annals of Surgical Oncology 1, 495–503 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02303615

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02303615

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