Astrocyte elevated gene-1 overexpression in histologically favorable Wilms tumor is related to poor prognosis

Abstract

Objective: Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) is associated with tumorigenesis and progression in various types of human cancers. However, the status of AEG-1 expression and its significance in Wilms tumor are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the expression of AEG-1 and evaluated its clinical and prognostic significance in favorable-histology Wilms tumor (FHWT).

Materials and methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine AEG-1 protein expression in paraffin-embedded tissues from 38 FHWT patients. All patients underwent radical nephrectomy from January 2003 to June 2008 with subsequent therapy according to National Wilms Tumor Study Group protocols. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the association between AEG-1 expression and clinical parameters.

Results: We found high AEG-1 expression in 17 of 38 (44.7%) patients. AEG-1 expression was significantly correlated with clinical stage (p = 0.019) and status of recurrence (p = 0.023). Importantly, patients with high AEG-1 expression had a shorter disease-free survival and overall survival compared with those with low AEG-1 expression (p = 0.011 and p = 0.013).

Conclusion: AEG-1 expression is associated with FHWT outcome in this study, and AEG-1 may represent a novel and valuable predictor for prognostic evaluation of FHWT patients.

Keywords: AEG-1; Immunohistochemistry; Prognosis; Survival; Wilms tumor.