Issues

The cover image is adapted from Figure 1 in the article, "High Extratumoral Mast Cell Counts Are Associated with a Higher Risk of Adverse Prostate Cancer Outcomes," by Hempel Sullivan and colleagues. The figure shows IHC for mast cell tryptase in prostate cancer bone metastases. Given the authors' previous findings that low intratumoral and high extratumoral mast cell numbers are associated with higher risk of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy, this study assessed this relationship with race and the development of metastases. Results showed intratumoral and extratumoral mast cell counts were significantly lower in tissues from African-American compared to European-American men, but not within strata of cancer grade. Mast cell numbers were similarly associated with risk of biochemical recurrence and metastases in African-American and European-American men. Higher numbers of benign tissue mast cells are associated with a higher risk of adverse outcomes after radical prostatectomy, including metastatic prostate cancer. For more information, see the article beginning on page 668.