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AUA 2010 Highlights
CPDR presentations and highlights at the American Urologic Association Annual Meeting San Francisco, May 30-June 3, 2010:
June 11, 2010
The multi-disciplinary team of Center for Prostate Disease Research led by COL (ret) David McLeod, MD, CPDR Director and Professor at Uniformed Services University and Dr. Shiv Srivastava, PhD, Co-Director and Professor at Uniformed Services University presented five abstracts in moderated poster sections of the American Urologic Association Annual Meeting:
1. Robust ERG oncoprotein expression in prostate cancer: potential for ERG based stratification. Bungo Furusato, Shyh-Han Tan, Denise Young, Albert Dobi, Chen Sun, Ahmed Mohamed, Rajesh Thangapazham, Yongmei Chen, Gary McMaster, Taduru Sreenath, Gyorgy Petrovics, David G. McLeod, Shiv Srivastava and Isabell A. Sesterhenn
2. Effect of Oncogenic Activation of ERG on Prostaglandin Signaling Pathway in Prostate Cancer Cells. Ahmed A. Mohamed, Albert Dobi, Chen Sun, Syed Shaheduzzaman, Shyh-Han Tan, Gyorgy Petrovics, Ying Hu, Yongmei Chen, Bungo Furusato, Isabell A. Sesterhenn, Taduru Sreenath, David G. McLeod and Shiv Srivastava
3. In vivo readout of androgen receptor (AR) functional status in primary tumors for patient stratification. Gyorgy Petrovics, Bungo Furusato, Syed Shaheduzzaman, Yongmei Chen, Timothy Nydam, Lakshmi Ravindranath, Amina Ali, Maryanne Vahey, Isabell A. Sesterhenn, David G. McLeod, Albert Dobi and Shiv Srivastava
4. ERG expression is negatively regulated by NKX3.1 within the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion context in prostate cancer cells. Albert Dobi, Rajesh Thangapazham and Shiv Srivastava
5. Down-regulation of ERG in Prostate Cancer Cells Activates Epithelial Cell Differentiation. Shyh-Han Tan, Nichelle Shah, Ahmed Mohamed, Taduru Sreenath, Gyorgy Petrovics, Albert Dobi, David G McLeod and Shiv Srivastava
In collaboration with the Department of Genitourinary Pathology, led by Dr. Isabell A. Sesterhenn, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Dr. Bungo Furusato reported a ground-breaking study delineating the ERG oncoprotein in prostate cancer. The title of his presentation was “Robust ERG oncoprotein expression in prostate cancer: potential for ERG based stratification”. The current report represents the CPDR’s continuing endeavor in defining the biology, biomarker and prognostic utility of ERG, a common oncogenic alteration in prostate cancer. This major advance in prostate cancer research was the result of an anti-ERG antibody developed at CPDR with unprecedented specificity (99.9%).
Towards evaluating the functional consequences of ERG oncoprotein in prostate tumors, Dr. Shyh-Han Tan reported that down-regulation of ERG in prostate cancer cells can activate epithelial cell differentiation. This study is the continuation of the original CPDR report revealing that ERG protooncogene suppresses the normal prostate differentiation program by interfering with the androgen receptor and by the activation of C-MYC oncogene. Dr. Albert Dobi presented recent finding by evaluating the negative control of ERG expression by the NKX3.1 tumor suppressor gene titled “ERG expression is negatively regulated by NKX3.1 within the TMPRSS2-ERG fusion context in prostate cancer cells”. This study emphasized the need for combining ERG inhibition and restoration of NKX3.1 in future therapies. Dr. Ahmed Mohamed revealed a link between ERG oncoprotein and the prostaglandin pathway, a potential link between inflammation and ERG oncogenesis in prostate cancer. The title of his presentation was “Effect of Oncogenic Activation of ERG on Prostaglandin Signaling Pathways in Prostate Cancer Cells”. Dr. Gyorgy Petrovics presented a novel gene panel with the potential for stratifying primary prostate tumors by the functional readout of androgen receptor. The title of his presentation was “In vivo readout of androgen receptor (AR) functional status in primary tumors for patient stratification”.
Presentations from Dr. Tan and Dr. Dobi were reviewed in the Basic Science Highlights of the Plenary Session.
The CPDR mission is fulfilled primarily through its three principal programs – the Clinical Research Center, the Basic Science Research Program and the National Multicenter Prostate Cancer Database– and through a robust education and training program that operates out of its Headquarters location, the Clinical Research Center, and the original laboratories at USUHS. CPDR is also committed to patient outreach, primarily through its affiliation with the WRAMC US TOO! organization and through a heavy schedule of health fairs in which it participates.
