title: Expression of costimulatory molecules B7-H1, B7-H4 and Foxp3+ Tregs in gastric cancer and its clinical significance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Immune escape plays an important role in tumor progression. In the present study, the expression of B7-H1, B7-H4 and Foxp3 involved in immune escape in gastric carcinoma was investigated and the corresponding clinical significance was evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of B7-H1, B7-H4 and Foxp3 in 100 gastric cancer specimens, and 30 paracarcinoma tissues were used as the control.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both B7-H1 and B7-H4 showed high expression levels in gastric cancer tissues (65.0 and 71.0 %, respectively), and the expressions of B7-H1 and B7-H4 were positively correlated with the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage (P < 0.05). The number of Foxp3(+) Tregs was much higher in gastric cancer tissues than control tissues, which was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Similarly, a positive correlation between B7-H1 or B7-H4 expression and the number of Foxp3(+) Tregs was observed. The median overall survival rate of patients with high expression of B7-H1, B7-H4 and Foxp3 was significantly poorer than that of patients with low expression of these proteins (P < 0.05). Cox regression multivariate analysis confirmed that lymph node metastasis, AJCC stage, and B7-H1 and Foxp3 overexpression were independent prognostic factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  B7-H1, B7-H4 and Foxp3 were overexpressed in gastric cancer tissues. B7-H1 and Foxp3 are negative prognostic factors for patients with gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, 185 Juqian Street, Changzhou, 213003, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yiting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Changqing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Jingting
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Changping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060890:B7-H1 Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D013270:Stomach / Q000737:chemistry; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000737:chemistry*; D019139:Tumor Escape; D060907:V-Set Domain-Containing T-Cell Activation Inhibitor 1 / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D060890:B7-H1 Antigen; C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D060907:V-Set Domain-Containing T-Cell Activation Inhibitor 1