Generation of a prognostic cancer stem-like gene expression signature in men undergoing radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.

4563 Background: Novel biomarkers are needed to predict recurrence after radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer. Recent data suggest that cancer stem-like cells (CSC) are present in prostate tumors, and the CSC phenotype has been associated with an aggressive cancer phenotype. We investigated whether tumor mRNA levels of genes typically expressed by CSC are associated with disease recurrence. Methods: Clinically annotated prostatectomy specimens (FFPE) were used for this nested case-control study. Samples represented men who underwent radical prostatectomy and either experienced a recurrence (PSA or clinical; n=152) or no recurrence (controls; n=124) with minimum 5-year follow-up. Men were excluded if they received neoadjuvant hormone therapy. Cases and controls were frequency matched based on D’Amico risk group. Laser capture microdissection with mRNA extraction and quantitative RT-PCR were used to quantify the expression of 12 candidate CSC-associated genes (ALDH1A1, Axin2, Bmi1, CD133, CD4...