TROP2 expression as prognostic marker for gastric carcinoma
- G Mühlmann1,
- G Spizzo2,4,
- J Gostner2,
- M Zitt1,
- H Maier3,
- P Moser3,
- G Gastl2,5,
- M Zitt2,
- H M Müller1,
- R Margreiter1,2,
- D Öfner1,
- D Fong2,4
- 1Center of Operative Medicine, Department of Visceral, Transplant and Thoracic Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria
- 2Tyrolean Cancer Research Institute, Innsbruck, Austria
- 3Department of Pathology, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria
- 4Department of Dncology and Hematology, Franz Tappeiner Hospital, Merano, Italy
- 5Center of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine V, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria
- Dr G Mühlmann, Center of Operative Medicine, Department of Visceral, Transplant and Thoracic Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria; gilbert.muehlmann{at}i-med.ac.at
- Accepted 26 September 2008
- Published Online First 17 October 2008
Abstract
Background: In gastric cancer the recurrence rate is unacceptably high, even after R0 resection and (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy. Therefore, there is an urgent need for identification of predictive and/or prognostic biomarkers to select high-risk patients who might benefit from additional therapies. Expression of TROP2 has been shown to be associated with tumour aggressiveness and poor prognosis in patients with various epithelial cancers.
Aims: To investigate TROP2 expression in gastric cancer and its correlation with clinicopathological features and disease outcome.
Methods: Expression of TROP2 was investigated by immunohistochemistry of tumour specimens from 104 patients who underwent resection for gastric cancer. Parameters found to be of prognostic significance in univariate analysis were verified in a multivariate Cox regression model.
Results: TROP2 was found to be overexpressed in 58 (56%) tumour samples. Significantly higher expression of TROP2 could be detected in intestinal-type carcinomas (p = 0.03). In intestinal-type gastric cancer, TROP2 overexpression was significantly correlated with shorter disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.03). Among the total group, TROP2 overexpression was predictive for poor disease-free (p<0.01) and overall (p = 0.03) survival in lymph node positive patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed TROP2 overexpression to be an independent prognostic marker for poor DFS in the subgroup of patients with intestinal-type gastric cancer irrespective of lymph node involvement.
Conclusion: Results show that TROP2 is an independent prognostic marker for disease recurrence in intestinal type gastric cancer. Due to its wide distribution TROP2 may become an attractive therapeutic target in a subgroup of patients with gastric cancer.
Footnotes
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GS and DF contributed equally
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Funding: This work was supported by the ÖNB Grant 12168 and the Österreichische Krebshilfe-Krebsgesellschaft Tirol 2006 Grant.
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Competing interests: None.
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Ethics approval: Ethics approval was obtained.
