Elevated β-catenin and C-myc promote malignancy, relapse, and indicate poor prognosis in patients with relapsed glioma

Extensive studies have shown that β-catenin and C-myc have been linked to a number of human cancers. However, the role of β-catenin and C-myc in relapse glioma remains unclear.

The aims of this study were to investigate the role of β-catenin and C-myc in relapsed glioma patients and to explore the possible impact of malignancy, relapse, and prognosis.

We collected surgical samples of 100 patients with primary and relapsed glioma treated at our institution. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was used to evaluate the expressions of β-catenin and C-myc. The impact of the differences on disease-free interval (DFI), initial overall survival (iOS), and overall survival from the time of glioma relapse (rOS) of the patients was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival functions were used to plot survival time, and a log-rank test was used for analyzing statistical significance. Cox multivariate regression analysis was used to determine independent prognostic parameters.

Compared to primary tumors, relapsed gliomas had higher expressions of β-catenin and C-myc (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the expressions of β-catenin and C-myc were significantly correlated with glioma grade (P < 0.05). These changes in expression at the time of relapse were independent of radiotherapy use. In multivariate Cox analysis, we found that β-catenin and C-myc were independent prognostic factors for rOS (P < 0.05).

Elevated β-catenin and C-myc promote malignancy, relapse, and indicate poor prognosis in patients with relapsed glioma. The elevated levels of β-catenin and c-myc in relapsed glioma were not affected by radiation therapy. The results of this study may provide a new therapeutic target for patients with relapsed glioma.