title: MAGE-A10 cancer/testis antigen is highly expressed in high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder carcinomas.
abstract: Bladder cancer is a common urinary malignancy and a prevalent cause of cancer-related death. Current therapies of early stage non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) are frequently associated with undesirable toxicities and recurrence. Active antigen-specific immunotherapy may provide a valid therapeutic option for patients with NMIBC. Cancer-testis antigens (CTA) expressed in various tumour types and in a limited range of healthy tissues may represent potential targets for specific immunotherapy. MAGE-A10 is probably the most immunogenic antigen of the MAGE-A family. We evaluated the expression of MAGE-A10 in NMIBC. Seventy-nine patients undergoing surgical treatment for NMIBC were enrolled in the study. MAGE-A10 gene expression was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemistry was performed on paraffin-embedded sections. MAGE-A10 gene was specifically expressed in one-third of NMIBC (n = 24: 32.43%). Gene expression was correlated with high tumour grade. MAGE-A10 protein was exclusively detectable in nuclei of tumour cells. More importantly, MAGE-A10 protein was also more frequently detectable in high-grade tumours (p = 0.0001) and in stage T1 tumours invading subepithelial tissue or lamina propria (p = 0.01). A strong correlation between MAGE-A10 staining score and tumour grade and stage could accordingly be observed. These data indicate that MAGE-A10 expression is a feature of aggressive NMIBC and might be used as a novel target for specific immunotherapy of these cancers.
authors.affiliation: ICFS, Departments of Surgery and Biomedicine, Basel University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland. cmengus@uhbs.ch
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mengus
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schultz-Thater
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coulot
authors.forename: Zeljko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kastelan
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goluza
authors.forename: Marijana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coric
authors.forename: Giulio C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Spagnoli
authors.forename: Tvrtko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hudolin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D015854:Up-Regulation; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; C119317:MAGE-A10 antigen; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins