Human leukocyte antigen-G expression is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G inhibits functions of immune component cells and promotes malignant cells evading from antitumor immunity. We investigated the clinical relevance of HLA-G expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In our study, HLA-G expression in 79 primary ESCC lesions and corresponding adjacent normal tissues were analyzed with immunohistochemistry. Soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) in plasma was detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 41 ESCC patients (including 19 case-matched lesions and plasma samples) and in 153 normal healthy controls. HLA-G expression was observed in 65.8% (52/79) of the ESCC lesions but not in adjacent normal esophageal tissues. HLA-G expression was more frequently observed in patients with advanced disease stage (III/IV vs. I/II, p = 0.01). Patients with HLA-G expression had a significantly worse survival, and HLA-G could be an independent prognostic factor. sHLA-G levels in plasma were significantly increased in patients compared to normal controls (median: 152.4 U/ml vs. 8.9 U/ml, p < 0.001). The area under receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for sHLA-G in plasma was 0.992. However, no significant correlation was found between sHLA-G in plasma and clinical parameters studied. In conclusion, our findings indicated that HLA-G expression in ESCC is associated with poor survival and could be a prognostic indicator. Furthermore, increased levels of sHLA-G in plasma might be a useful preoperative biomarker for diagnosis.
Human Tissue Bank, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical College, Zhejiang, China.
Aifen
A
Lin
Xia
X
Zhang
Wen-Jun
WJ
Zhou
Yan-Yun
YY
Ruan
Dan-Ping
DP
Xu
Qing
Q
Wang
Wei-Hua
WH
Yan
D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis
D006680:HLA Antigens; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I