Immunohistochemical Detection Of Hpv E6 Protein In Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cause of deaths amongst men, mostly because symptoms are detected at a late stage. Whilst the facts of prostate cancer remain hard to pin down, recent studies on epidemiology and aetiology of prostate cancer have yielded a considerable amount of information regarding potential risk factors as well as evolution of disease. As aetiology, among race, age, family history, testosterone, environment and genetic factors in prostate cancer are quite common and sexual history was suggested as a strong factor as unprotected sexual intercourse linked to sexually transmitted disease amongst young men can lead to development of prostate cancer at a later age. The oncogenic capability of HPV have been established on cervical cancer cell studies and also its predisposition to epithelial tissue. The viral early proteins play a crucial role in viral establishment and maintenance by abrogating apoptosis and cell cycle proliferation. Among them E6 and E7 protoncogenes of HPV participate to the regulation of cell division by promoting DNA synthesis, arresting the RB gene and interrupt p53 mediated growth arrest and apoptosis of altered cells. The presence of E6 protein within a tissue will display a low apoptosis index. This study is intended to investigate if there is any link between HPV E6 and prostate cancer development by detecting the protein of interest using Immunohistochemistry ABC method on archived prostate specimens. E6 protein was found present in 23.8% of prostate cancer specimens and in none of the control tissue ( BPH). These results are in line with the hypothesis that HPV E6 accumulated in prostate cancer tissue may contribute to prostate cancer development , following similar patterns with cervical cancer development.