Microvessel density as a predictor of PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy. A comparison of CD34 and CD31.

Whether prostate cancer recurrence can be predicted by microvessel density (MVD) measurements is controversial. One reason for the lack of agreement may be the differing antibodies used to determine MVD. We evaluated MVD using 2 different antibodies against endothelial cells, CD31 and CD34, on 102 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy without adjuvant hormonal therapy. The tumors from these cases were identified, and areas with the highest Gleason pattern were immunostained. Average MVD determined by CD31 (MVD/CD31) staining was significantly lower than that obtained by MVD/CD34 staining (60.1 vs 80.3). By using Kaplan-Meier analysis, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence was correlated with MVD/CD31 and MVD/CD34. MVD/CD34 and MVD/CD31 were associated strongly with PSA recurrence on a univariate level. However, only MVD/CD34 was an independent predictor of PSA failure. Therefore, some of the confusion about MVD value as a prognostic indicator may be due to the antibodies used.