Biomarkers in primary tumors predicting lymph node metastasis

Background:

In Norway, 48.5% (n=608) of radically operated patients got extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) in 2018. Close to 20% of these had pathologically verified lymph node metastasis.

Radical prostatectomy (RP) with ePLND carries a higher risk of peri- and post –operative complications compared to RP alone. In addition, ePLND increases the duration of operation, and in some cases, the length of hospital stays. This inevitably means the procedure requires more health resources. 

Currently, PSA, cT stage, biopsy Gleason grade, and in some cases the number of positive biopsy cores, are the key values used to predict the probability for lymph node metastasis, which in turn guides whether or not to perform ePLND.

Aim

Assess if it is possible to identify biomarkers for lymph node metastasis.

Hypothesis:

Chronic stress promotes metastasis and proteins involved in the stress response may act as predictors for lymph node metastasis.

How:

We will utilize our The Prostate Biobank and test whether predefined candidates can predict lymph node metastasis using either immunohistochemistry or transcriptome analyses.

Project members: Shivanthe Sivanesan and Håkon Ramberg