title: EphA8 is a prognostic marker for epithelial ovarian cancer.
abstract: EphA8 is one of the Eph receptors in the Eph/ephrin receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) subfamily. During tumorigenesis, EphA8 is involved in angiogenesis, cell adhesion and migration. In this study, we determined the mRNA and protein expression levels of EphA8 in cancerous and normal ovarian tissue samples by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) (N = 60) and tissue microarray immunohistochemistry analysis (TMA-IHC) (N = 223) respectively. EphA8 protein levels in cancer tissues were correlated with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients' clinical characteristics and overall survival. Both EphA8 mRNA and protein levels were significantly higher in EOC tissues than in normal or benign ovarian tissues (all P < 0.05). High EphA8 protein level was associated older age at diagnosis, higher FIGO stage, positive lymph nodes, presence of metastasis, positive ascitic fluid, and higher serum CA-125 level. High EphA8 protein level is an independent prognostic marker in EOC. We conclude that EphA8 acts as an oncogene in EOC development and progression. Detection of EphA8 expression could be a useful prognosis marker and targeting EphA8 represents a novel strategy for EOC treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nantong University Affiliated Hospital, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yunzhao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Nantong University Affiliated Hospital, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Nantong University Affiliated Hospital, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Nantong University Affiliated Hospital, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nantong University Affiliated Hospital, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nantong University Affiliated Hospital, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yuquan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xujuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Nantong University Affiliated Hospital, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Jianfei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D018262:Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002288:Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; D018284:Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D036143:Receptor, EphA8 / Q000378:metabolism*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D036143:Receptor, EphA8
keywords: EphA8; human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC); immunohistochemistry; prognosis; qRT-PCR