Increased CD73 expression is associated with poorly differentiated Gleason score and tumor size in prostate cancer

Abstract

There are few prostate cancer prognostic biomarkers. However, clinical difficulties in distinguishing between aggressive and non-aggressive tumors have been observed. CD73 is a 70-kDa glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked ecto-enzyme that reduces antitumor immunity in mouse models of tumor, particularly prostate cancer. It's believed to be a promising biomarker for predicting the clinical development and prognosis of certain tumor types. Its function in prostate cancer, however, is unknown. This study aims to investigate the hypothesis that CD73 may be used as a biomarker in prostate cancer diagnosis and/or prognosis. Nuclear and cytoplasmic CD73 staining has been evaluated by immunohistochemistry using benign (23) and malignant (75) prostate tissues. The immunohistochemical study showed nuclear and cytoplasmic CD73 staining in cancerous and non-cancerous prostate tissues. Increased CD73 staining was shown in prostate cancer tissues compared to benign prostate tissues. A negative association between CD73 expression and Gleason scores has been observed. However, increased cytoplasmic CD73 staining was significantly associated with increasing tumor size. This finding suggests that CD73 may have a role in cancer development or aggressiveness, indicating that more research is needed to better understand its function and determine whether it might be used as a diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer.