Intensity of androgen and epidermal growth factor receptor immunoreactivity in samples of radical prostatectomy as prognostic indicator: correlation with clinical data of long-term observations.

Purpose: We analyzed the potential prognostic significance of the immunohistochemical expression of androgen and growth factor receptors determined in prostatectomy specimens of patients with prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: A cohort of 211 patients with locally confined prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy with or without antiandrogen pretreatment between January 1, 1990 and August 31, 1996 was observed prospectively. Prostatectomy samples were processed immunohistochemically to visualize androgen and growth factor receptors, of which immunoreaction intensity was scored relative to that of positive control tissue.