B7-H3 expression in gastric cancer: a novel molecular blood marker for detecting circulating tumor cells.
The clinical significance of B7-H3 expression in gastric cancer remains unclear, although the B7 ligand family plays a critical role in the T cell-mediated immune response. We therefore investigated B7-H3 expression as a blood marker of circulating tumor cells and determined correlations with tumor progression in patients with gastric cancer. B7-H3 expression in gastric cell lines was initially evaluated by immunocytochemistry. Furthermore, we used quantitative RT-PCR to assess B7-H3 mRNA expression in four cell lines and in 95 blood specimens from patients with gastric cancer, as well as in 21 samples of peripheral blood lymphocytes from healthy volunteers. B7-H3 expression in cell lines was identified by immunocytochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR. Blood specimens from patients with gastric cancer contained significantly more copies of B7-H3 mRNA than those from healthy volunteers without cancer (P < 0.0001). Levels of B7-H3 expression significantly correlated with overall stage (P = 0.013). The 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with high B7-H3 expression than with low expression (P = 0.02). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that B7-H3 expression was an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.046). Our results indicate that B7-H3 appears to be a useful blood marker for predicting tumor progression in gastric cancer.
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
Takaaki
T
Arigami
Yoshikazu
Y
Uenosono
Munetsugu
M
Hirata
Shigehiro
S
Yanagita
Sumiya
S
Ishigami
Shoji
S
Natsugoe
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood*; D060887:B7 Antigens; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000097:blood*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology
D015703:Antigens, CD; D060887:B7 Antigens; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C423237:CD276 protein, human; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic