# HISTOPATHOLOGY, ENZYMATIC ANALYSIS AND PROGNOSIS

> **NIH NIH R01** · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · 1987 · $118,134

## Abstract

A most important obstacle facing the diagnostic pathologist,
chemotherapist, and radiotherapist in the evaluation of any attempt to
alter the natural history of prostatic carcinoma lies in the great
heterogeneity within any recognizable subgroup of patients with prostatic
cancer.  Currently, the most widely used predictor of prognosis is the
grading system of Gleason; however, individuals whose tumors receive
identical Gleason's grades may differ enormously in survival and biological
behavior of their tumors.  Preliminary studies have shown that measurement
of extracted arginase, B iso-enzyme of N-acetyl-Beta-D-glucosaminidase,
glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and BB iso-enzyme of creatine kinase
from tumor complements this histopathological system for prediction of
prognosis.  Moreover, several of these enzymes complement one another for
prediction of Gleason's grade.  In a small series of patients followed for
only a few years, certain of these enzymatic activities correlate better
than Gleason's grade with survival.  Activities of these enzymes are
different in prostatic carcinoma and prostates with benign hyperplasia
(BPH).  Our objectives are (1) to determine if enzymatic activities in
uninvolved portions of prostates from patients with prostatic carcinoma
show any alterations similar to those seen in prostatic carcinoma, (2)
prospectively to measure activities of these enzymes extracted from tumors
of a series of patients sufficiently large to test their clinical
usefulness definitively, and (3) to identify other biochemical phenotypic
markers that complement histopathological data in prediction of prognosis
and identification of homogeneous subgroups of patients with prostatic
carcinoma.  To our knowledge, this is the first human tumor for which
multiple enzymatic markers appear to correlate with survival in the absence
of therapy that prolongs life, although several well developed, analogous
systems exist in animal models.  Most therapeutic decisions that affect
survival of patients with cancer are made based on data available at
initial diagnosis.  Consequently, it is of great importance to obtain from
primary tumor as much information as possible that might be useful for the
assessment of its biological potential.  Despite much published work with
rat hepatomas, the enclosed 6 reprints are the first demonstration that
enzymatic activities in any human primary tumor may be more instructive
than histological evaluation for prediction of prognosis; if confirmed in a
larger study, this finding will facilitate "appropriate stratification in
clinical trials."

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3176963
- **Project number:** 5R01CA038727-02
- **Recipient organization:** CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** HJMKEF7EJW69
- **Principal Investigator:** THOMAS G PRETLOW
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1987
- **Award amount:** $118,134
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1986-05-01 → 1990-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3176963

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3176963, HISTOPATHOLOGY, ENZYMATIC ANALYSIS AND PROGNOSIS (5R01CA038727-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3176963. Licensed CC0.

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