PTEN and DNA Ploidy Status by Machine Learning in Prostate Cancer.

Machine learning (ML) is expected to improve biomarker assessment. Using convolution neural networks, we developed a fully-automated method for assessing PTEN protein status in immunohistochemically-stained slides using a radical prostatectomy (RP) cohort ( = 253). It was validated according to a predefined protocol in an independent RP cohort ( = 259), alone and by measuring its prognostic value in combination with DNA ploidy status determined by ML-based image cytometry.

Immune checkpoint B7-H3 protein expression is associated with poor outcome and androgen receptor status in prostate cancer.

Background: Novel immune checkpoint-based immunotherapies may benefit specific groups of prostate cancer patients who are resistant to other treatments.

Methods: We analyzed by immunohistochemistry the expression of B7-H3, PD-L1/B7-H1, and androgen receptor (AR) in tissue samples from 120 prostate adenocarcinoma patients treated with radical prostatectomy in Spain, and from 206 prostate adenocarcinoma patients treated with radical prostatectomy in Norway.

Results: B7-H3 expression correlated positively with AR expression and was associated with biochemical recurrence in the Spanish cohort, but PD-L1 expression correlated with neither of them.

Prognostic value of DNA ploidy and automated assessment of stroma fraction in prostate cancer.

The combination of DNA ploidy and automatically estimated stroma fraction has been shown to correlate with recurrence and cancer death in colorectal cancer. We aimed to extend this observation and evaluate the prognostic importance of this combined marker in prostate cancer. DNA ploidy status was determined by image cytometry and the stroma fraction was estimated automatically on hematoxylin and eosin stained sections in three tumor samples from each patient to account for tumor heterogeneity.

Prognostic value of mitotic checkpoint protein BUB3, cyclin B1, and pituitary tumor-transforming 1 expression in prostate cancer.

The mitotic checkpoint protein BUB3, cyclin B1 (CCNB1) and pituitary tumor-transforming 1 (PTTG1) regulates cell division, and are sparsely studied in prostate cancer. Deregulation of these genes can lead to genomic instability, a characteristic of more aggressive tumors. We aimed to determine the expression levels of BUB3, CCNB1, and PTTG1 as potential prognostic markers of recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

Chromatin organisation and cancer prognosis: a pan-cancer study.

Background: Chromatin organisation affects gene expression and regional mutation frequencies and contributes to carcinogenesis. Aberrant organisation of DNA has been correlated with cancer prognosis in analyses of the chromatin component of tumour cell nuclei using image texture analysis. As yet, the methodology has not been sufficiently validated to permit its clinical application.