Immunoreactivity and prognostic value of tumor-associated glycoprotein 72 in primary gallbladder carcinoma

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of tumor-associated glycoprotein 72 (TAG-72) in primary gallbladder carcinoma (PGC) with an attempt to determine the potential usefulness of it in diagnostic and prognostic applications.

Tissue samples from 118 patients with PGC, 30 patients with chronic cholecystitis, and 20 normal gallbladders were stained with anti-TAG-72 antibodies for immunohistochemical analysis. Then, the clinical outcome of the patients after a maximum follow-up of 5 years was determined in 110 out of 118 patients.

Clinicopathological characteristics of the carcinomas and clinical outcome of the patients were associated with the TAG-72 expression. TAG-72 was expressed more frequently in cancerous tissues of larger size, with lymph nodes metastasis, and with poor differentiation. Especially, a statistical association was found with more advanced UICC stages of the disease (55.77%, 65.38%, 92.86%, 93.75% and 100% in stages IA, IB, IIA, IIB, and III, respectively, p=0.02). Using a proportional hazard model, the survival rate of the patients with PGC expressing TAG-72 was significantly lower than the patients without TAG-72 expression (p<0.01), and including information of TAG-72 staining patterns within cancerous tissues along with clinical cancer staging may improve the accuracy of predicting patients' prognosis.

These data suggest that TAG-72 expression is associated with clinicopathological parameters of aggressiveness in PGC. The detection of it combined with cancerous staging may increase the ability of investigators to predict the prognosis of patients with PGC.