title: Meta-analysis of microarray data identifies GAS6 expression as an independent predictor of poor survival in ovarian cancer.
abstract: Seeking new biomarkers for epithelial ovarian cancer, the fifth most common cause of death from all cancers in women and the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancies, we performed a meta-analysis of three independent studies and compared the results in regard to clinicopathological parameters. This analysis revealed that GAS6 was highly expressed in ovarian cancer and therefore was selected as our candidate of choice. GAS6 encodes a secreted protein involved in physiological processes including cell proliferation, chemotaxis, and cell survival. We performed immunohistochemistry on various ovarian cancer tissues and found that GAS6 expression was elevated in tumour tissue samples compared to healthy control samples (P < 0.0001). In addition, GAS6 expression was also higher in tumours from patients with residual disease compared to those without. Our data propose GAS6 as an independent predictor of poor survival, suggesting GAS6, both on the mRNA and on the protein level, as a potential biomarker for ovarian cancer. In clinical practice, the staining of a tumour biopsy for GAS6 may be useful to assess cancer prognosis and/or to monitor disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Group, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buehler
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tse
authors.forename: Alix
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leboucq
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Rosmarie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caduff
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: Darlene R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Heinzelmann-Schwarz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000401:mortality*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015996:Survival Rate; D000099255:Growth Arrest-Specific Protein 6
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D000099255:Growth Arrest-Specific Protein 6