Sialyltransferase STX (ST8SiaII): a novel molecular marker of metastatic neuroblastoma. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Polysialic acid (PSA) is highly expressed in many human cancers, including neuroblastoma (NB), and is critical for cellular adhesion, neuronal migration and tumor metastasis. The key enzyme responsible for PSA synthesis is sialyltransferase STX (ST8SiaII). Using quantitative RT-PCR we (i) studied STX expression in 39 NB tumors and 8 cell lines and (ii) examined its potential clinical utility as an early response marker in the bone marrows of the entire cohort of 136 high-risk NB patients treated with an immunotherapy protocol utilizing anti-GD2 antibody 3F8 and GM-CSF. Based on the quantitation of 24 normal marrow and peripheral blood samples, a normalized STX transcript value below the mean + 2SD was defined as negative. Sensitivity of this assay was 1 NB cell in 10(6) normal mononuclear cells. STX expression was high among NB tumors of all stages, as well as NB cell lines of different phenotypes. Evaluation for early (2.5 months from protocol entry) marrow response by univariate Cox model indicated that STX marker status (positive versus negative) was strongly associated with both progression-free and overall survival (p < 0.0005 for both). Similarly, the STX transcript level of posttreatment marrows was also highly prognostic of outcome (PFS, p = 0.001; OS, p < 0.0005). We conclude that STX mRNA has potential clinical utility as a molecular marker of metastatic NB.

publication date

  • July 1, 2006

Research

keywords

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Sialyltransferases

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 33646511107

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1002/ijc.21789

PubMed ID

  • 16450393

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 119

issue

  • 1