High expression of MAGE-A9 is associated with unfavorable survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Melanoma-associated antigens (MAGEs) are a group of well-characterized members of the cancer/testis antigen family, which are expressed in a variety of malignant tumors. MAGE-A9, a subfamily of MAGE-As, has been studied in a number of types of cancer and have been associated with unfavorable survival outcome. However, the expression of MAGE-A9 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and association of MAGE-A9 with the clinicopathological characteristics of ESCC, particularly prognostic characteristics, remains unknown. The present study aimed at determining the expression level of MAGE-A9 and at evaluating its clinical significance in human ESCC. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses were performed to characterize the expression of MAGE-A9 in ESCC tissues. Kaplan-Meier estimator survival and Coxs regression analyses were used to evaluate the prognosis of 103 patients with ESCC. The results of qPCR and IHC analysis revealed that the expression of MAGE-A9 was significantly increased in ESCC tissues, compared with that in healthy tissues. Furthermore, the expression level of MAGE-A9 protein in ESCC was significantly associated with the pathological grade (P=0.008), tumor size (P=0.027) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.009). Multivariate analysis using Coxs regression model identified that the expression level of MAGE-A9 and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors for the overall survival rate of patients with ESCC (P=0.006 and P=0.001, respectively). The results of the present study are, to the best of our knowledge, the first to indicate that MAGE-A9 expression is a valuable prognostic biomarker for ESCC and that it may serve as a targeted therapy in the treatment of ESCC. Increased expression of MAGE-A9 indicated an unfavorable survival outcome in patients with ESCC.

PRAME Expression as a Potential Biomarker for Hematogenous Recurrence of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…Previous studies have demonstrated an association between the prognosis of ESCC patients and expression of several members of the melanoma-associated antigen (MAGE) gene family, including MAGE-A9 (7), MAGE-A11 (8), and MAGE-D4 (9). Another member of this family, preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma (PRAME), has been reported to play a role in the progression of various malignant tumors, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (10)(11)(12)(13)(14).…”

miR-503 suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by triggering autophagy via PKA/mTOR signaling

“…Epidemiological evidence has indicated that the prognosis of patients with early-stage ESCC is good; however, this sharply declines upon the progression of the disease to an advanced stage. The recurrence and metastasis of ESCC is the pivotal factor leading to the death of patients with advanced disease ( 4 ). To date, multiple factors have been reported to be involved in the progression to the advanced stage of ESCC ( 5 , 6 ); however, the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated.…”

Genetic and molecular bases of esophageal Cancer among Iranians: an update

“…Another study on Chinese ESCC patients revealed that there was a significant MAGE-A9 up regulation in ESCC tissues compared with normal. Moreover, the levels of MAGE-A9 expression was significantly correlated with grade, size, and lymph node involvement [123].…”