Expression and significance of PCNA and p27 in benign prostate hypertrophy and prostate carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression of PCNA and p27 in human benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH) and prostate carcinoma (PCa) and their effect on the genesis and progression of the tumor. Methods The paraffin-embedded sections of 30 cases with BPH and 37 cases with PCa were collected. The expression of p27 and PCNA protein were examined by S-P immunohistochemical method. Comparative analysis for BPH and pathological grade and clinical stage of PCa was performed. Results The expression of PCNA in BPH (3.3%) was significantly lower than that in Pca (83.8%, P0.01). The expression of p27 in BPH (70.0%) was significantly higher than that in Pca (27.0%, P0.05). The expression of p27 was not correlated with histological grade and clinical stage in Pca (P0.05). An inverse correlation was found between p27 and PCNA expression in BPH (P0.01), while no correlation was found in Pca (P05). ConclusionThe loss or decreased expression of p27 protein may be related to the genesis of benign prostate hypertrophy, but not to the development of prostate carcinoma; the overexpression of PCNA may play an important role in the malignant behavior and progression of prostate carcinoma.