Immunohistochemical Study of Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression in Prostate Carcinoma: It's Relation with Apoptosis and Angiogenesis

Objective: Prostate carcinoma (PC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancer types with significant rates of mortality and morbidity. The etiology of PC is not clear. Cytokine and mediators at the inflammatory pathway plays role at the various steps of the relation between chronic inflammation and cancer. The objective of this study is to determine if there is relationship between cyclooxygenase-2 (COX) apoptosis and angiogenesis in patients with PC. Materials and Methods: Sample of 49 cases who were at pathologic stage pT2 and underwent radical prostatectomy, were selected retrospectively between 2005-2010, from the archives of Pathology Department of Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine. Histologic slides of each case were reviewed for the diagnostic reassessment and graded by the Gleason scoring system. COX-2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), monoclonal antibody (M30) and bcl-2 were immunohistochemically applied to the cases and they were evaluated. Results: The mean age of the patients were 63.8. Twenty-one cases had their Gleason score <= 6 and 28 had their Gleason score >= 7. COX-2 expression was detected in 81.6% of cases. While COX-2 expression was significantly correlated with bcl-2 expression, there was no correlation between VEGF and COX-2 expression. Gleason score was negatively correlated with M30. It was detected that as COX-2 expression increased mean survival time significantly decreased. Conclusion: This study makes us think that in the PC carcinogenesis COX-2 inhibits apoptosis rather than promoting angiogenesis. These results may offer new insights for the treatment strategies, also they may be useful for the prediction of clinical outcomes.