Immunohistochemical Study of Transforming Growth Factor-β2 in Prostatic Cancer

Prostate tissue samples from patients with prostatic carcinoma (PC) and patientswith benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) were examined for the expression of transforming growth Factor-β2 (TGF-β2) using an immunohistochemical technique.All PC andBPH stroma showed positive staining and similar staining type.However, the staining ofTGF-β2 in the malignant epithelium of PC was significantly stronger and more extensivecompared with BPH, the differences were highly significant (P<0.01).Normal prostatetissue serving as controls showed no staining for TGF-β2 in epithelium in four cases.Stroma positive staining was noted in all four cases but was less extensive than that of PCon BPH.The findings suggest that TGF-β2 may be biologically important in the genesisand development of PC and BPH.