Purpose

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the expression of claudins and prognostic factors in patients with prostate cancer.

Materials and Methods

The subjects of this study were 48 patients who had undergone surgery for prostate cancer. The Gleason score (6 or lower, 7 or higher), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, T stage, biochemical recurrence, local recurrence, and distant metastasis were compared according to the expression of claudin-1 and claudin-5 in prostate cancer.

Results

In the group with a low expression of claudin-1, the Gleason score was 7 points or higher in 18 cases (82%) and 6 points or lower in 4 cases (18%). In the group with a high expression of claudin-1, the Gleason score was 7 points or higher in 13 cases (50%) and 6 points or lower in 13 cases (50%). Thus, the low-expression group had more cases with a Gleason score of 7 or higher (p= 0.022). The group with a low expression of claudin-5 also had more cases with a Gleason score of 7 or higher (p= 0.011). The mean PSA values in the groups with a low and high expression of claudin-1 were 9.6 ng/ml and 5.6 ng/ml, respectively (p= 0.007). A low expression of claudin-5 was also associated with a high PSA value (p= 0.002). There was no statistical difference in the expression of claudin-1 and claudin-5 by T stage, biochemical recurrence, local recurrence, or distant metastasis.

Conclusions

The low expression of claudin-1, claudin-5 was associated with a Gleason score of 7 or higher and a high PSA value in prostate cancer.