Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α: A screening tool for predicting development of castrate resistant prostate cancer.

e15117 Background: Currently there is no method to determine which patients starting androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer (PC) will progress to castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) while the reasons for early metastases and chemoresistance in CRPCs are unknown. We aimed to investigate the potential role of hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), a key transcription factor in the cell mediated adaptive response to changes in tissue oxygenation, in predicting the development of CRPC. Methods: 100 prostate tumour samples were divided into Gleason ≤7 (38) and Gleason >7 (62) and stained for HIF1α using immunohistochemistry, blinded to the outcomes. The outcomes of CRPC, metastases and PC specific death were measured and correlated with HIF1α expression. In vitro, the effects of HIF1α on proliferation, survival and migration of PC cells were assessed by cell count and Boyden chamber assays. Results: HIF1α expression in PC was independent of Gleason grade and tumour stage. HIF1α was an indep...