Expression of the cancer/testis antigen NY-ESO-1 in primary and metastatic malignant melanoma (MM)--correlation with prognostic factors.
Cancer/testis (CT) antigens are potential targets for cancer immunotherapy, with NY-ESO-1 being among the most immunogenic. In several clinical trials in malignant melanoma (MM) patients, NY-ESO-1 protein/peptides showed clear evidence of inducing specific immunity. However, little is known about NY-ESO-1 expression in primary and metastatic MM and its relationship to disease progression. We analyzed NY-ESO-1 expression immunohistochemically in a series of primary and metastatic MMs and its relation to prognostic parameters and survival. We studied 61 primary and 63 metastatic MM specimens (from 61 and 56 patients, respectively). The prevalence of NY-ESO-1 expression was significantly higher in metastatic versus primary tumors [18/56 (32%) versus 8/61 (13%), P = 0.015]. There was a significant association between initial stage at presentation and NY-ESO-1 expression [stage I (3.45%), stage II (9.52%) and stage III (45.45%), P = 0.0014]. Primary MMs expressing NY-ESO-1 were significantly thicker than NY-ESO-1 negative cases (median thickness 4.7 mm versus 1.53 mm respectively, P = 0.03). No significant difference was seen in overall survival. In conclusion, NY-ESO-1 is more frequently expressed in metastatic than in primary MM and its expression is associated with thicker primary lesions and a higher frequency of metastatic disease, indicative of a worse prognosis. Our study suggests that patients with metastatic MM who express NY-ESO-1 may benefit from NY-ESO-1-based immunotherapy.
Velazquez
Elsa F
EF
Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Jungbluth
Achim A
AA
Yancovitz
Molly
M
Gnjatic
Sacha
S
Adams
Sylvia
S
O'Neill
David
D
Zavilevich
Kira
K
Albukh
Tatyana
T
Christos
Paul
P
Mazumdar
Madhu
M
Pavlick
Anna
A
Polsky
David
D
Shapiro
Richard
R
Berman
Russell
R
Spira
Joanna
J
Busam
Klaus
K
Osman
Iman
I
Bhardwaj
Nina
N
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D016019:Survival Analysis
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; C104948:CTAG1B protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins