Prevalence and clinical application of <i>TMPRSS2-ERG</i> fusion in Asian prostate cancer patients: a large-sample study in Chinese people and a systematic review.

De-pei Kong; Rui Chen; Chun-lei Zhang; Wei Zhang; Guang-an Xiao; Fu-bo Wang; Na TA; Xu Gao; Ying-hao Sun

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Prevalence and clinical application of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion in Asian prostate cancer patients: a large-sample study in Chinese people and a systematic review.

Author: De-Pei KONG ¹ ; Rui CHEN ¹ ; Chun-Lei ZHANG ¹ ; Wei ZHANG ¹ ; Guang-An XIAO ¹ ; Fu-Bo WANG ¹ ; Na TA ² ; Xu GAO ¹ ; Ying-Hao SUN ¹
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1. Department of Urology, Shanghai Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
2. Department of Pathology, Shanghai Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Publication Type:Systematic Review
Keywords: Asian; Chinese; TMPRSS2-ERG; prostate cancer; systematic review
MeSH: Aged; China; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Oncogene Fusion/genetics*; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion/genetics*; Prostatic Neoplasms/genetics*; Serine Endopeptidases/genetics*; Transcriptional Regulator ERG/genetics*
From: Asian Journal of Andrology 2020;22(2):200-207
CountryChina
Language:English
Abstract: Fusion between the transmembrane protease serine 2 and v-ets erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog (TMPRSS2-ERG fusion) is a common genetic alteration in prostate cancer among Western populations and has been suggested as playing a role in tumorigenesis and progression of prostate cancer. However, the prevalence of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion differs among different ethnic groups, and contradictory results have been reported in Asian patients. We aim to evaluate the prevalence and significance of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion as a molecular subtyping and prognosis indicator of prostate cancer in Asians. We identified the fusion status in 669 samples from prostate biopsy and radical prostatectomy by fluorescence in situ hybridization and/or immunohistochemistry in China. We examined the association of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion with clinicopathological characteristics and biochemical recurrence by Chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Finally, a systematic review was performed to investigate the positive rate of the fusion in Asian prostate cancer patients. McNemar's test was employed to compare the positive rates of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion detected using different methods. The positive rates of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion were 16% in our samples and 27% in Asian patients. In our samples, 9.4% and 19.3% of cases were recognized as fusion positive by fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, respectively. No significant association between the fusion and clinical parameters was observed. TMPRSS2-ERG fusion is not a frequent genomic alteration among Asian prostate cancer patients and has limited significance in clinical practices in China. Besides ethnic difference, detection methods potentially influence the results showing a positive rate of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion.