OncoTargets and Therapy (Dec 2020)
CD26 as a Promising Biomarker for Predicting Prognosis in Patients with Pancreatic Tumors
Abstract
Liang Yan,1,* Xiuyun Tian,1,* Chunxiang Ye,1,2 Xiaoya Guan,1 Bin Dong,3 Min Zhao,4 Jianhui Wu,1 Chunyi Hao1 1Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of General Surgery, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Central Laboratory, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Chunyi HaoKey Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, No. 52 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-10-88196182Fax +86-10-88196548Email [email protected]: Pancreatic cancer is associated with a high mortality rate owing to insufficient approaches for early diagnosis and the invasive biological behavior of the cancer. CD26 is a membrane-anchored protein involved in multiple physiological and pathological processes. Here, we investigated correlations between CD26 expression and clinicopathological features in patients with pancreatic tumors.Methods: We collected 170 tumor tissue specimens and 138 paired paratumoral tissues from patients with pancreatic tumors and evaluated CD26 expression using immunohistochemistry.Results: CD26 was expressed in 79.4% of pancreatic tumors, which was significantly (P < 0.001) higher than that in paratumoral pancreatic tissues (23.2%). High expression of CD26 was correlated with ABO blood type (P = 0.035), malignancy degree (P = 0.001), CA199 (P = 0.01), and CA242 (P = 0.027). In pancreatic malignancies, CD26 expression was observed in 80.7% (130/161) of cases. Lower CD26 expression was correlated with longer disease-free survival (P = 0.048) and overall survival (P = 0.024) and was an independent predictor of overall survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.713; P = 0.042). Similar results were observed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tissues, and CD26 expression level (HR: 2.117; P = 0.008) was an independent predictor of overall survival in patients with PDAC. CD26 expression was significantly increased in pancreatic tumors and gradually increased with increasing malignancy degree, suggesting that CD26 may be involved in the tumorigenic proliferation of pancreatic tumors.Conclusion: Therefore, CD26 is a potential marker for early diagnosis and a promising therapeutic target in pancreatic tumors.Keywords: biomarker, CD26, immunohistochemistry, pancreatic cancer, prognosis
