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. 2023 Jan 7;13(2):221.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13020221.

THSD7A Positivity Is Associated with High Expression of FAK in Prostate Cancer

Fidelis Andrea Flockerzi  1 , Johannes Hohneck  1 , Matthias Saar  2 , Rainer Maria Bohle  1 , Phillip Rolf Stahl  1
Affiliations

THSD7A Positivity Is Associated with High Expression of FAK in Prostate Cancer

Fidelis Andrea Flockerzi et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies, and there are a wide range of treatment options after diagnosis. Most prostate cancers behave in an indolent manner. However, a given sub-group has been shown to exhibit aggressive behavior; therefore, it is desirable to find novel prognostic and predictive (molecular) markers. THSD7A expression is significantly associated with unfavorable prognostic parameters in prostate cancer. FAK is overexpressed in several tumor types and is believed to play a role in tumor progression and metastasis. Furthermore, there is evidence that THSD7A might affect FAK-dependent signaling pathways. To examine whether THSD7A expression has an impact on the expression level of FAK in its unphosphorylated form, a total of 461 prostate cancers were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays. THSD7A positivity and low FAK expression were associated with adverse pathological features. THSD7A positivity was significantly associated with high FAK expression. To our knowledge we are the first to show that THSD7A positivity is associated with high FAK expression in prostate cancer. This might be proof of the actual involvement of THSD7A in FAK-dependent signaling pathways. This is of special importance because THSD7A might also serve as a putative therapeutic target in cancer therapy.

Keywords: FAK; THSD7A; prostate cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
THSD7A shows membranous and cytoplasmic staining pattern. (a) Tumor cells with 2+ and 3+ staining. (b) Whole slide, tumor cells with strong THSD7A positivity, and the adjacent non-tumor tissue is THSD7A-negative (arrows) with a magnification of 100×.
Figure 2
Figure 2
FAK shows cytoplasmic staining pattern; (a) tumor cells with high FAK expression; (b) tumor cells with low FAK expression with a magnification of 100×.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Tumor with high FAK expression; (b) same tumor is THSD7A-negative with a magnification of 100×.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Tumor with high FAK expression; (b) same tumor is also THSD7A-positive and the adjacent non-tumor tissue is THSD7A-negative (arrows) with a magnification of 100×.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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