Prognostic Significance Of PTEN Loss In Prostatic Adenocarcinoma: An Immunohistochemical Study

Abstract

Introduction: Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is a tumour suppressor gene that is essential for chromosome integrity, cell cycle regulation and DNA repair. Loss of PTEN expression has been implicated in prostate cancer progression and poor prognosis. However, very few studies have been done in the Indian population concerning the use of PTEN as a prognostic marker in prostatic carcinoma.

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate PTEN expression in prostatic adenocarcinoma and its association with known clinicopathological prognostic factors.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 cases of prostatic adenocarcinoma diagnosed at the Department of Pathology in a tertiary care health centre in South India. PTEN expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry and correlated with known clinicopathological variables, including age, preoperative serum PSA levels, Gleason score and grade, and perineural invasion.

Results: Loss of PTEN expression was observed in 23 cases (46%) and was more frequent in tumours exhibiting higher grade. A statistically significant correlation was found between PTEN loss and aggressive histopathological features like higher Gleason scores (p-value = 0.046) and Gleason grade (p-value = 0.019). No significant association was found with age (p-value = 0.106), preoperative serum PSA levels (p-value = 0.113) and perineural invasion (p-value = 0.209).

Conclusion: PTEN loss is significantly associated with aggressive histopathological features, suggesting its potential as a prognostic marker in prostatic adenocarcinoma. Incorporating PTEN status in routine diagnostic workup may help in the identification of high-risk patients. Further large-scale studies are warranted to validate PTEN as a reliable prognostic biomarker.