Expression of human leucocyte antigen G (HLA-G) is associated with prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer.
In a previous study, we demonstrated that human leucocyte antigen G (HLA-G) was aberrantly expressed in a majority of primary colorectal carcinomas, and that the detection of HLA-G expression had a strong and independent prognostic value in human colorectal cancer. In the current study, we look into whether the aberrant expression of HLA-G is also related to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The expression of HLA-G was investigated immunohistochemically in 106 patients with NSCLC. The correlation between HLA-G status and various clinicopathological parameters was analysed. As well, the level of HLA-G expression was also compared to the survival rate of patients with NSCLC. In total, we found that in 75% (79/106) of the primary site of NSCLC, an aberrant HLA-G expression was detected. However, this expression was not observed in the normal lung tissues. HLA-G expression in NSCLC was significantly correlated with lymph nodal metastasis, clinical stages of the disease, and host immune response (P = 0.0001, 0.0001, and 0.027, respectively). Patients with HLA-G positive tumours had a significantly shorter survival time than those with tumours that were HLA-G negative (P = 0.001). In addition, through multivariate analysis, HLA-G exhibited an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.01, relative risk 4.09; 95% confidence interval 1.40-11.9). All in all, our results indicate that the expression of HLA-G is a characteristic feature of NSCLC, and they suggest that immunostaining by anti-HLA-G antibodies may be a potentially useful prognostic indicator.
Yie
Shang-mian
SM
Chengdu Bioengineering Institute for Cancer Research, Chengdu, Sichuan, PR China. shangmian.yie@gmail.com
Yang
Hong
H
Ye
Shang-rong
SR
Li
Ke
K
Dong
Dan-dan
DD
Lin
Xin-mei
XM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models
D006680:HLA Antigens; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I