Y chromosome losses are exceedingly rare in prostate cancer and unrelated to patient age

BACKGROUND Loss of the Y chromosome is a frequently reported chromosomal abnormality in many tumor types. This study was undertaken to investigate the frequency of Y chromosome losses and this chromosomal abnormality might play a potential role in prostate cancer. METHODS A preexisting prostate cancer tissue microarray (TMA) containing samples of 3,261 patients treated by radical prostatectomy with clinical follow‐up data was used in this study. TMA sections were analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using a dual labeling probe for the centromeres of the X and Y chromosome. RESULTS Unequivocal losses of the Y chromosome were seen in only 12 of 2,053 analyzable cases. No significant associations were found between Y loss and patient age, pT stage, and the risk of PSA recurrence. Interestingly, in our study the presence of Y losses was significantly associated with high Gleason grade (P = 0.0034). CONCLUSIONS Loss of the Y chromosome is a rare event in prostate cancer. Y losses occur in much higher rates in most other cancer types. For this reason, we suggest that the expression of at least one Y chromosome gene is essential for prostate epithelial cells and it is possible that such a gene could represent a suitable target for future therapy of prostate cancer. Prostate 72:898–903, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.