Better survival is observed in cervical cancer patients positive for specific anti-glycan antibodies and receiving brachytherapy

Abstract

Objective: To measure anti-glycan antibodies (AGA) in cervical cancer (CC) patient sera and assess their effect on therapeutic outcome.

Patients and methods: Serum AGA was measured in 276 stage II and 292 stage III Peruvian CC patients using a high content and throughput Luminex multiplex glycan array (LMGA) containing 177 glycans. Association with disease-specific survival (DSS) and progression free survival (PFS) were analyzed using Cox regression.

Results: AGAs were detected against 50 (28.3%) of the 177 glycans assayed. Of the 568 patients, 84.5% received external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) plus brachytherapy (BT), while 15.5% only received EBRT. For stage-matched patients (Stage III), receiving EBRT alone was significantly associated with worse survival (HR 6.4, p < 0.001). Stage III patients have significantly worse survival than Stage II patients after matching for treatment (HR = 2.8 in EBRT+BT treatment group). Furthermore, better PFS and DSS were observed in patients positive for AGA against multiple glycans belonging to the blood group H, Lewis, Ganglio, Isoglobo, lacto and sialylated tetrarose antigens (best HR = 0.49, best p = 0.0008).

Conclusions: Better PFS and DSS are observed in cervical cancer patients that are positive for specific antiglycan antibodies and received brachytherapy.

Keywords: Anti-glycan antibodies; Biomarkers; Cervical cancer; Glycans; Therapeutic outcome.