Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 108, Issue 7 , Pages 554-559, July 2009

Cadmium Concentration and Metallothionein Expression in Prostate Cancer and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia of Humans

  • Jane-Dar Lee

      Affiliations

    • Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taiwan
    • Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Su-Mei Wu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Aquatic Biosciences, National Chiayi University, Yuanshan Veterans Hospital, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Lieng-Yi Lu

      Affiliations

    • Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Ya-Tang Yang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pathology, Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Shaw-Yeu Jeng

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, Yuanshan Veterans Hospital, Taiwan
    • Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Dr Shaw-Yeu Jeng, Department of Surgery, Yuanshan Veterans Hospital, 386 Rongguang Road, Yuanshan Township, Yilan 264, Taiwan

Received 27 March 2008; received in revised form 26 May 2008; accepted 19 January 2009.

Background/Purpose

Cadmium (Cd) causes various genitourinary disorders and is a carcinogen for prostate cancer. Metallothionein (MT) is a protein that detoxifies heavy metals. We evaluated changes in Cd concentration and MT expression in human prostate cancer (CaP) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Our goal was to clarify the relationship between Cd concentration and MT expression in prostatic diseases.

Methods

The experimental group consisted of 18 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for CaP. The control group consisted of 35 patients who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate for BPH. Tissue samples were acquired from the gross tumor site and from resected chips. We determined Cd concentration by atomic absorption, MT expression by immunoblotting, and immunohistochemical staining. The significance of between-group differences for these outcomes was analyzed using Student's t tests.

Results

There was no statistically significant difference in Cd concentration between the CaP and BPH groups. Immunoblots from both groups revealed a single band. The relative intensity of the MT band was 0.58 ± 0.09 in the BPH group and 0.17 ± 0.03 in the CaP group. MT expression in patients with BPH was 3.4-fold higher than in those with CaP.

Conclusion

MT may bind heavy metals and protect patients from CaP. Additional studies are needed to reveal the factors that influence the expression of MT in prostate epithelial cells, and to analyze the free and compound forms of Cd at the same time.

Key Words:  benign prostatic hyperplasia , cadmium , metallothionein , prostate cancer

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PII: S0929-6646(09)60373-9

doi:10.1016/S0929-6646(09)60373-9

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 108, Issue 7 , Pages 554-559, July 2009

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