Expression and clinical significance of melanoma antigen A gene family in peripheral blood of esophageal carcinoma patients / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

ABSTRACT

@# Objective: To evaluate the expression of melanoma antigen A family（MAGE-As）in the peripheral blood of patients with esophageal carcinoma (EC), and to analyze its correlations to the clinicopathological features and the prognosis of EC patients. Methods: mRNA expression of MAGE-As in peripheral blood from 153 EC patients and 30 healthy donors was detected using multiplex semi-nested PCR. In addition, restriction endonuclease treatment was used to determine the expression of MAGE-As family members, including MAGE-A1, A2, A3, A4 and A6. Results: The positive expression of MAGE-As was observed in 30 of 153 EC patients (19.61%) in peripheral blood. The positive expression rate of MAGE-A1, A2, A3, A4, A6 was 10.46% (16/153), 16.34%(25/153), 9.8% (15/153), 11.11% (17/153) and 18.30%(28/153), respectively. Additionally, the expression of MAGE-As was positively associated with clinical stage, lymphatic metastasis and distant metastasis (all P<0.05). The positive expressions of MAGE-As and its sub-type genes were all associated with low 5-year overall survival of ES patients (all P<0.05). Expression of MAGE-As, tumor volume, lymphatic metastasis and distant metastasis can be used as independent prognostic factors for the survival of EC patients (all P<0.01). Conclusion: The expression of MAGE-As in peripheral blood of EC patients was associated with the prognosis of EC, and may be used as an important indicator for the prognosis of esophageal carcinoma.