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Published on: January 22, 2018
Circulating soluble Fas ligand in patients with gastric carcinoma
S Tsutsumi1, H Kuwano, T Shimura
1First Department of Surgery, Gunma University School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan. chuchumi@showa.gumma-u.ac.jp
Background:
The Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) system is involved in cancer cell death induced by the immune system. Most of the tumors may escape the host immune attack by imitating themselves as immune-privileged sites by overexpressing FasL. FasL is synthesized as a membrane-bound protein that can be cleaved to the soluble isoform (sFasL). The objectives of this work were to determine whether the serum concentrations of sFasL in patients with gastric carcinoma were correlated with clinicopathologic features and survival rates.
Methods:
The authors examined the circulating sFasL concentration in 43 healthy people and 166 primary gastric carcinoma patients at the time of diagnosis by enzyme linked immunoadsorbent assay. The results were categorized by clinical and histopathologic variables.
Results:
The serum sFasL levels of healthy subjects were all less than 0.1 ng/mL. Among the 166 gastric carcinoma patients, the median concentration of sFasL was 0.04 ng/mL. There were no significant differences between the healthy controls and the gastric carcinoma patients group (P = 0.738). The sFasL levels were significantly increased in patients with gastric carcinoma in a manner reflective of the disease stages such as the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis. The authors determined the cutoff value (0.08 ng/mL) as a 90th percentile of healthy controls. The survival analysis demonstrated that patients with high sFasL levels had a worse prognosis than those with low levels (P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis confirmed that the sFasL concentration was an independent prognostic indicator of overall survival (P = 0.041).
Conclusions:
Our results indicated that sFasL concentrations could not be a new marker for early detection of gastric carcinoma but a prognostic tumor marker for the assessment of the progression of advanced gastric carcinoma.
Insights
Serum soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) levels correlate with gastric cancer progression and survival. Elevated sFasL indicates a worse prognosis, but it is not a reliable marker for early cancer detection.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- The Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) system mediates immune-induced cancer cell death.
- Tumors often overexpress FasL to evade immune surveillance.
- Soluble FasL (sFasL) is a cleaved form of membrane-bound FasL.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between serum sFasL concentrations and clinicopathologic features in gastric carcinoma patients.
- To assess the prognostic value of sFasL in gastric cancer survival rates.
Main Methods:
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum sFasL levels.
- 43 healthy individuals and 166 gastric carcinoma patients were analyzed.
- Results were correlated with clinical and histopathological variables.
Main Results:
- Serum sFasL levels did not differ significantly between healthy controls and gastric cancer patients at diagnosis.
- Elevated sFasL levels correlated significantly with advanced disease stages, including tumor invasion depth, lymph node, and distant metastasis.
- High sFasL levels were associated with a worse prognosis and confirmed as an independent predictor of overall survival.
Conclusions:
- Serum sFasL is not a suitable marker for early gastric cancer detection.
- sFasL serves as a valuable prognostic marker for assessing the progression of advanced gastric carcinoma.
