title: Alteration of HLA-F and HLA I antigen expression in the tumor is associated with survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Alteration of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) expression, such as decreased HLA I (HLA-A, -B and -C) antigens and elevated nonclassical HLA I antigens (HLA-E, -F and -G), was reported to have an unfavorable prognosis in various cancers. In our study, HLA-F expression in 105 primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) lesions and 62 case-matched adjacent normal tissues, and HLA I antigens among 68 cases were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Data revealed that HLA-F expression was observed in 58.1% (61/105) of the ESCC lesions and in 54.8% (34/62) of the normal esophageal tissues. Among the 62 case-matched samples, HLA-F expression (lesion vs. normal tissue) was upregulated, unchanged and downregulated in 13 (21.0%), 6 (9.6%) and 43 (69.4%) cases, respectively. Patients with HLA-F positive had a worse survival than those with HLA-F negative (p = 0.040). Patients with upregulated HLA-F expression (lesion vs. normal tissue) had significantly worse survival than those with HLA-F unchanged and downregulated (p = 0.010). Furthermore, decreased HLA I expression was observed in 41.2% (28/68) patients and was with worse prognosis in comparison to those with preserved HLA I expression (p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazards model revealed that upregulated HLA-F expression (p = 0.026) and downregulated HLA I expression (p = 0.013) could be an independent unfavorable prognostic factor. In conclusion, our study provided the evidence that alteration of HLA I and HLA-F antigen expression was associated with survival in patients with ESCC.
authors.affiliation: Human Tissue Bank, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical College, Linhai, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: J-G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: W-G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: D-P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Y-Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.forename: W-H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000276:immunology; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C062341:HLA-F antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I