Low Expression of ATM Indicates a Poor Prognosis in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Introduction: The study was carried out to examine the expression of ataxia telangiectasia mutant (ATM) of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and to explore the relationship between the expression of ATM and the clinicopathologic parameters and prognosis of ccRCC.

Materials and methods: Clinicopathologic data of the patients with ccRCC were collected from January 2011 to August 2015 in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University. The immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of ATM in ccRCC and adjacent tissues. The Kaplan-Meier survival method and log-rank test were used to analyze the relationship between ATM expression and the survival time of the patients with ccRCC. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors for the prognosis of ccRCC.

Results: A total of 110 patients were selected in this study, including 73 men and 37 women. The expression of ATM in ccRCC is significantly lower than that in adjacent tissues. Further analysis found that the expression of ATM in the ccRCC tissues above grade II was lower than that of grade II or below. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the total survival time of the ATM low expression group was significantly shorter than that of the ATM high expression group. The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that expression of ATM and clinical stage were independent factors affecting the prognosis of ccRCC.

Conclusion: ATM expression level could serve as an independent risk factor for the prognosis of ccRCC and could be considered as a potential therapeutic target of ccRCC.

Keywords: Ataxia telangiectasia mutant; Clear cell renal cell carcinoma; Immunohistochemistry; Prognosis; Risk factor.