AMPK down-regulating Beclin-1 in prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis: An observational study

Bone metastasis is frequently seen in patients, particularly those with prostate cancer, showing a higher hazard that deteriorates the quality of life of patients, leading to poor prognosis, which eventually causes significant mortality in prostate cancer patients. The present study investigated the mechanism of prostate cancer with bone metastasis by utilizing prostate specimens from patients. A total of 418 patients were initially enrolled for clinical analysis, including age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, body mass index (BMI), prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and bone MRI, while pathological analysis included grade group and carcinoma of the prostate. Patients were divided into a prostate cancer with bone metastasis group (group 1, prostate cancer patients) and benign prostate patient group (group 2, control group) and underwent subsequent immunohistochemical (IHC) detection. Expression of AMPK/Beclin-1 signaling pathways was analyzed through immunohistochemistry. Finally, 46 patients with prostate cancer bone metastasis (prostate cancer patients) and 61 patients with benign prostate (control group) met the inclusion criteria. We examined the expression levels of Beclin-1 and AMPK in human prostate tissues by IHC and found that Beclin-1 levels were negatively correlated with AMPK in prostate cancer with bone metastasis (P < .05). The results of this study suggest that AMPK-Beclin-1 significantly reduces prostate cancer metastasis to the bone in human tissues.