Androgen receptors in cancer of the prostate. Correlation with the stage and grade of the tumor.

The authors have measured the androgen receptor concentrations in the cytosol and nucleus of 13 carcinoma of the prostate (CaP) patients and compared these values to those in an age-matched group of 23 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Histologic classification of the tumors was carried out and the receptor content was correlated to the grade and stage of the disease. The mean +/- SEM receptor values for BPH (cytosol: 115 +/- 18 fmol/g tissue; nucleus: 140 +/- 34 fmol/g tissue) were not significantly different from those measured in CaP (cytosol: 105 +/- 23 fmol/g tissue; nucleus: 83 +/- 23 fmol/g tissue). There was a positive correlation between nuclear and cytosolic receptors in both BPH and CaP. Our data revealed, however, the absence of any correlation between histologic grade in CaP and receptor content. If, however, the tumors were classified according to the stage of the cancer using the TNM system, "early disease" tumors maintained significantly lower Gleason score (4.4 +/- 0.61) and receptor levels (cytosol: 63.8 +/- 31.2 fmol/g tissue; nucleus: 46.2 +/- 26.5 fmol/g tissue) than those measured in the "late disease" (Gleason score: 7.0 +/- 0.56; cytosol receptor: 146.2 +/- 20.5; nuclear receptor: 117.2 +/- 31.6) (P less than 0.05); therefore the staging of the disease bears a great impact on the capacity of the tumor to specifically bind androgens.