Detection of infectious organisms in archival prostate cancer tissues

Abstract

Background: Seroepidemiological studies have reported associations between exposure to sexually transmitted organisms and prostate cancer risk. This study sought DNA evidence of candidate organisms in archival prostate cancer tissues with the aim of assessing if a subset of these cancers show any association with common genital infections.Methods: 221 archival paraffin-embedded tissue blocks representing 128 histopathologically confirmed prostate cancers comprising 52 " aggressive" (Gleason score ≥ 7) and 76 " non-aggressive" (Gleason score ≤ 6) TURP or radical prostatectomy specimens were examined, as well as unaffected adjacent tissue when available. Representative tissue sections were sub..