Clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of cancer-associated fibroblasts in prostate cancer patients

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment were considered to play an essential role in tumor growth and development. However, few studies have assessed the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of CAFs in prostate cancer (PCa) patients.

Methods: One hundred thirty pairs of PCa tissues and normal adjacent tissues (NATs) were immunostained with fibroblast activation protein and α-smooth muscle actin to quantify CAFs. Bioinformatics analysis was used to uncover the possible biological functions of CAFs.

Results: More CAFs were identified in PCa tissues than in NATs. High density of CAFs may be associated with advanced-stage disease, higher Gleason scores, lymphatic metastases, higher PSA, and poor biochemical recurrence-free survival in PCa. Bioinformatics analysis showed that CAFs may regulate tumor progression and recurrence through ECM modification, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and regulation of cytoskeleton.

Conclusion: In summary, our study uncovered the clinicopathological significance and potential mechanism of CAFs and indicated that CAFs may be a useful prognostic biomarker in PCa.

Keywords: Biochemical recurrence; Cancer-associated fibroblast; Fibroblast activation protein; Prostate cancer; α-smooth muscle actin.