Expression of B7-H4 in blood of patients with gastric cancer predicts tumor progression and prognosis.
OBJECTIVE
B7-H4 is a novel molecular B7 ligand that plays an important role as a negative regulator of the T cell-mediated immune response. However, the clinical significance of B7-H4 expression in gastric cancer remains uncertain. Here, we assessed B7-H4 expression in blood of patients with gastric cancer to determine whether or not it can predict tumor progression and prognosis.


METHODS
We measured B7-H4 mRNA expression by quantitative RT-PCR in five gastric cell lines as well as in blood specimens from 94 patients with gastric cancer and from 22 healthy volunteers.


RESULTS
Significantly more B7-H4 mRNA copies were found in gastric cell lines and in blood from patients with gastric cancer than in blood from healthy volunteers (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001, respectively). B7-H4 expressed in 71 (75.5%) of 94 patients with gastric cancer significantly correlated with depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and overall stage (P = 0.006, P = 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). The 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with than without B7-H4 expression (P = 0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
The evaluation of B7-H4 expression in blood is a useful tool for predicting the progression of gastric cancer and prognosis.
Arigami
Takaaki
T
Department of Surgical Oncology and Digestive Surgery, Field of Oncology, Course of Advanced Therapeutics, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan. arigami@m.kufm.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
Uenosono
Yoshikazu
Y
Hirata
Munetsugu
M
Hagihara
Takahiko
T
Yanagita
Shigehiro
S
Ishigami
Sumiya
S
Natsugoe
Shoji
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018122:B7-1 Antigen / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate; D060907:V-Set Domain-Containing T-Cell Activation Inhibitor 1
D018122:B7-1 Antigen; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D060907:V-Set Domain-Containing T-Cell Activation Inhibitor 1; C475826:VTCN1 protein, human