Original Article
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World J Clin Urol. Nov 24, 2014; 3(3): 351-357
Published online Nov 24, 2014. doi: 10.5410/wjcu.v3.i3.351
Programmed cell death protein 4 expression in renal cell carcinoma, penile carcinoma and testicular germ cell cancer
Nicolas Fischer, Friederike Göke, Philip Kahl, Vera Splittstößer, Brigitte Lankat-Buttgereit, Stefan C Müller, Jörg Ellinger
Nicolas Fischer, Department of Urology, Helios Klinikum Krefeld, 47805 Krefeld, Germany
Nicolas Fischer, Vera Splittstößer, Stefan C Müller, Jörg Ellinger, Department of Urology, University of Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Friederike Göke, Philip Kahl, Department of Pathology, University of Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Brigitte Lankat-Buttgereit, Department of Internal Medicine, Philipps-University of Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
Author contributions: Fischer N, Lankat-Buttgereit B and Ellinger J contributed to study idea and conception; Fischer N, Göke F, Kahl P and Splittstößer V contributed to histopathological preparation and evaluation; Fischer N and Ellinger J contributed to manuscript preparation; Müller SC and Ellinger J contributed to editing and revision; Müller SC and Ellinger J contributed to supervision.
Correspondence to: Dr. Jörg Ellinger, PhD, Department of Urology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53127 Bonn, Germany. joerg.ellinger@ukb.uni-bonn.de
Telephone: +49-228-28714249 Fax: +49-228-28719150
Received: March 12, 2014
Revised: July 10, 2014
Accepted: August 27, 2014
Published online: November 24, 2014
Processing time: 251 Days and 22.5 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the expression of programmed cell death 4 (Pdcd4) tumor suppressor gene in tissue specimen of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), testicular germ cell cancer and penile cancer.

METHODS: Pdcd4 expression was studied using immunohistochemistry in 188 cases of RCC and 28 controls (including 9 oncocytoma); in 74 cases of penile carcinoma (including 17 metastatic tissue samples) and 26 controls; in 11 cases of seminoma, in 14 cases of non-seminoma and 5 controls.

RESULTS: Control tissues exhibited strong core and cytoplasmatic Pdcd4 staining. In contrast, core and cytoplasmatic Pdcd4 levels were significantly decreased in cancer tissues.

CONCLUSION: Our data support a role for Pdcd4 (down-) regulation in urologic tumors. Interestingly, Pdcd4 expression seem to be a potential diagnostic marker for renal or penile tumors.

Keywords: Programmed cell death 4; Seminoma; Non-seminoma; Testicular cancer; Renal cell carcinoma; Penile carcinoma; Expression; Apoptosis; Immunohistochemistry

Core tip: Programmed cell death 4 has increasingly become the focus of investigative tumor research in the last years. It has shown to be involved in many tumorous entities, some of which we present for the first time in this paper. Its involvment in apoptosis, invasion and metastasis has been proved in numerous works and showed to be a target for diagnostic and therapeutic measures. We investigate its role and cellular expression patterns in urologic tumors, especially some, that haven’t been investigated to this extent or at all to this date.