Stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 is a histological marker reflecting the malignant behavior of prostate cancer

• Published in: Glycoconjugate journal Vol. 36; no. 5; pp. 409 - 418
• Main Authors: Nakamura, Yuichiro, Miyata, Yasuyoshi, Matsuo, Tomohiro, Shida, Yohei, Hakariya, Tomoaki, Ohba, Kojiro, Taima, Takenobu, Ito, Akihiro, Suda, Tetsuji, Hakomori, Sen-itiroh, Saito, Seiichi, Sakai, Hideki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Antigens; Apoptosis; Biochemistry; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biopsy; Cancer surgery; Embryos; Glycosphingolipids - metabolism; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Invasiveness; Life Sciences; Lymph nodes; Lymph Nodes - metabolism; Lymph Nodes - pathology; Lymphatic Metastasis; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating - metabolism; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating - pathology; Male; Metastases; Middle Aged; Monoclonal antibodies; Multivariate Analysis; Neoplasm Grading; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Staging; Original; Original Article; Pathology; Pluripotency; Prognosis; Prostate cancer; Prostatectomy; Prostatic Neoplasms - diagnosis; Prostatic Neoplasms - metabolism; Prostatic Neoplasms - mortality; Prostatic Neoplasms - surgery; Stage-Specific Embryonic Antigens - metabolism; Stem cells; Survival Analysis; Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes; Tumor-infiltrating immune cells; Apoptosis · prostate cancer; Biochemical recurrence; SSEA-4
• ISSN: 0282-0080; 1573-4986; 1573-4986
• DOI: 10.1007/s10719-019-09882-2

Stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 (SSEA-4), a specific marker for pluripotent stem cells, plays an important role in the malignant behavior of several cancers. Here, SSEA-4 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody RM1 specific to SSEA-4 in 181 and 117 prostate cancer (PC) specimens obtained by biopsy and radical prostatectomy (RP), respectively. The relationships between SSEA-4 expression in cancer cells or the presence of SSEA-4-positive tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. SSEA-4 expression in cancer cells was significantly associated with Gleason score, local progression, and lymph node and distant metastasis. In RP specimens, high SSEA-4 expression in cancer cells and the presence of SSEA-4-positive TICs were significant predictors of pT3, i.e ., invasion and worse biochemical recurrence (BCR) after RP, respectively, in univariate analysis. In contrast, combination of high SSEA-4 expression in cancer cells and the presence of SSEA-4-positive TICs was an independent predictor for pT3 and BCR in multivariate analysis. Biologically this combination was also independently associated with suppression of apoptosis. Thus, the co-expression of SSEA-4 in cancer cells and TICs may have crucial roles in the malignant aggressiveness and prognosis of PC. Invasive potential and suppression of apoptosis may be linked to SSEA-4 expression.