Immunohistochemical expression of tumor antigens MAGE-A1, MAGE-A3/4, and NY-ESO-1 in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate by immunohistochemistry the expression of MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1/LAGE-1, cancer testis antigens (CTAs), in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis.


METHODS
A total of 30 penile carcinoma samples from patients undergoing penile amputation at the Urology Clinics at the Zagreb Clinical Hospital Center and University Hospital "Sestre milosrdnice" from 1997 to 2004 were investigated in this study. Three monoclonal antibodies were used for immunohistochemical staining: 77B specific for MAGE-A1, 57B recognizing multiple MAGE-A CTAs, and D8.38, specific for NY-ESO-1 antigen.


RESULTS
The expression of MAGE-A1 was not observed in the carcinoma samples, but both multi-MAGE-A and NY-ESO-1-specific reagents stained 29 (97%) of 30 samples. Immunohistochemical staining was prevailingly detected in the cytoplasm. A significant heterogeneity was observed within the same specimen, in which areas with strong positivity coexisted with CTA-negative areas. The extent of CTA expression did not correlate significantly with tumor grade.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study have documented for the first time the expression of CTAs in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis. Additional research is warranted to explore the potential implications regarding both diagnosis and therapy.
Hudolin
Tvrtko
T
Department of Urology, Zagreb University Hospital Center, KBC Zagreb, Klinika za urologiju, Zagreb, Croatia. thudolin@hotmail.com
Juretic
Antonio
A
Pasini
Josip
J
Tomas
Davor
D
Spagnoli
Giulio Cesare
GC
Heberer
Michael
M
Dimanovski
Jordan
J
Kruslin
Bozo
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D058950:Melanoma-Specific Antigens; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010412:Penile Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D013737:Testis
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; C104948:CTAG1B protein, human; C072011:MAGEA1 protein, human; C072013:MAGEA3 protein, human; C095204:MAGEA4 protein, human; D058950:Melanoma-Specific Antigens; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins