Prostatic chondroitin sulfate is increased in patients with metastatic disease but does not predict survival outcome

BACKGROUND Previous studies from our laboratory demonstrated a strong association between an elevated level of chondroitin sulfate (CS) in peritumoral stroma and PSA‐relapse in patients with early stage disease. In this study we determined whether CS levels could predict overall survival in men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer subsequently treated by orchiectomy alone. METHODS CS was localized in archived prostatic tissues by immunohistochemistry, and the level of CS expression as measured by video image analysis was compared in cohorts of 157 and 60 men with early stage or advanced disease, respectively. RESULTS The CS levels in the peritumoral stroma of patients without relapse after treatment for early stage disease was significantly reduced compared to levels in prostate tissue from patients who either relapsed (P = 0.003) or were diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer (P