The Role of Ageing, Inflammation and Maspin in the Early Stages of Prostatic Malignant Transformation

Prostate cancer (PCa) progression is an intricate step-wise process, starting from malignant transformations in the benign prostatic epithelium. The hallmark of PCa is the long period of its development from premalignant transformations in the benign prostatic epithelium towards clinically active carcinoma. Along with the age, inflammation, race and genetics, which are well-recognized risk factors for prostatic carcinoma, epigenetics play also a significant role in the initiation and progression of prostatic carcinoma. DNA methylation in the CpG gene islands is a key player in the regulation of gene expression and silencing, and significantly contributes to the disease development. Progression of cancer is associated with the loss of several tumor suppressor genes such as Maspin through mutations or epigenetic silencing. Epigenetic silencing of Maspin seems to be one of the earliest somatic change, contributing to the development of prostatic carcinoma in the human prostate.