Prostate Cancer (Jan 2011)

Proliferative Tumor Doubling Times of Prostatic Carcinoma

  • Priya N. Werahera,
  • L. Michael Glode,
  • Francisco G. La Rosa,
  • M. Scott Lucia,
  • E. David Crawford,
  • Kenneth Easterday,
  • Holly T. Sullivan,
  • Rameshwar S. Sidhu,
  • Elizabeth Genova,
  • Tammy Hedlund

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/301850
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2011

Abstract

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Prostate cancer (PCa) has a variable biology ranging from latent cancer to extremely aggressive tumors. Proliferative activities of cancers may indicate their biological potential. A flow cytometric assay to calculate maximum proliferative doubling times (Tmax) of PCa in radical prostatectomy specimens after preoperative in vivo bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) infusion is presented. Only 4/17 specimens had tumors large enough for flow cytometric analysis. The Tmax of tumors was similar and ranged from 0.6 to 3.6 months. Tumors had calculated doubling times 2- to 25-fold faster than their matched normal tissue. Variations in labeling index and Tmax were observed within a tumor as well as between different Gleason grades. The observed PSA doubling times (PSA-DT) ranged from 18.4 to 32.0 months, considerably slower than the corresponding Tmax of tumors involved. While lack of data for apoptotic rates is a limitation, apparent biological differences between latent versus aggressive PCa may be attributable to variations in apoptotic rates of these tumors rather than their cell proliferative rates.