Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9899
+44 1223 790975
ISSN: 2155-9899
+44 1223 790975
Nikolaos Tsoukalas, Spyros Siakavellas, Maria Tolia, Ioannis Vamvakaris, Ioannis Kostakis, Evangelos Bournakis, Ioannis Sfiniadakis, Andreas Karameris and Stamatios Theocharis
Accepted Abstracts: J Clin Cell Immunol
Introduction: Lung cancer is an important health problem worldwide due to its incidence and mortality. RCAS1 (Receptor- binding Cancer Antigen expressed on SiSo cells) is a protein that is expressed in different types of cancer and seems to be involved in the process of the tumour cells? escape from the immune system surveillance (immunoescape). Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of RCAS1 immunohistochemical expression in non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Tissue microarrays of tumor specimens from 112 patients with newly diagnosed primary NSCLC were constructed. The sections were stained with monoclonal antibodies against RCAS1, Ki-67 and CD3 using immunohistochemistry and they were studied through computerized image analysis. Associations between RCAS1, Ki-67 and CD3 expression and clinicopathological variables and survival were analyzed. In all cases p-value≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: RCAS1 expression was higher in grade III tumors, regardless of the histological type (p=0.004), and in adenocarcinomas with lymphovascular invasion (p=0.014). A positive correlation between RCAS1 and Ki-67 levels was observed (p=0.002). Moreover, there was an inverse correlation of survival interval with RCAS1 (ΗR=0.985, p<0.001, 95% CI 0.977-0.994) and Ki- 67 (HR=1.046, p=0.003, 95% CI 1.016-1.078) levels and patients with higher expression of RCAS1 or Ki-67 had a significantly shorter survival than those with lower expression. There was also an inverse correlation between RCAS1 expression and the percentage of CD3(+) lympocytes inside the tumor (p<0.001). Finally, there was a positive correlation between the percentage of CD3(+) lympocytes inside the tumor and the overall survival (HR=0.687, p=0.094, 95% CI 0.442-1.069). Conclusions: RCAS1 could be a useful immunohistochemical marker indicating tumor aggressiveness and predicting poor prognosis for patients with NSCLC