Piwil 2 expression is correlated with disease-specific and progression-free survival of chemotherapy-treated bladder cancer patients

Taubert H, Wach S, Jung R, Pugia M, Keck B, Bertz S, Nolte E, Stoehr R, Lehmann J, Ohlmann CH, Stöckle M, Wullich B, Hartmann A (2015)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2015

Journal

Publisher: Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

Book Volume: 21

Pages Range: 371-80

DOI: 10.2119/molmed.2014.00250

Abstract

Piwi-like 2 (Piwil 2) belongs to the family of Argonaute genes/proteins. The expression of Piwil 2 is associated with stem cells. A role in tumorigenesis and/or tumor progression is proposed for different cancers but not yet for bladder cancer (BCa). We investigated the Piwil 2 expression by immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 202 BCa patients treated by cystectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy. The association between Piwil 2 expression and disease-specific (DSS) or progression-free survival (PFS) was calculated using Kaplan Meier analyses and univariate/multivariate Cox's regression hazard models.In a multivariate Cox's regression, Piwil 2 expression, either in the cytoplasm or the nucleus, was significantly associated with DSS and PFS. A weak cytoplasmic staining pattern was associated with poor DSS and tumor progression (RR=2.7; P=0.004 and RR=2.4; P=0.027). Likewise,, absent nuclear Piwil 2 immunoreactivity was associated with poor DSS and tumor progression (RR=2.3; P=0.023 and RR=2.2; P=0.022). BCa patients whose tumors exhibited a combination of weak cytoplasmic and absent nuclear immunoreactivity had a 6-fold increased risk of tumor-related death (P=0.005) compared to patients with strong expression. Considering only patients with high grade G3 tumors, a 7.8-fold risk of tumor-associated death and a 3.6-fold risk of tumor progression were detected independently of the histologic tumor subtype or the chemotherapy regimen. In summary, a combination of weak cytoplasmic and absent nuclear expression of Piwil 2 is significantly associated with an increased risk of DSS and tumor progression. This implicates that Piwil 2 could be a valuable prognostic marker for high-risk BCa patients.

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APA:

Taubert, H., Wach, S., Jung, R., Pugia, M., Keck, B., Bertz, S.,... Hartmann, A. (2015). Piwil 2 expression is correlated with disease-specific and progression-free survival of chemotherapy-treated bladder cancer patients. Molecular Medicine, 21, 371-80. https://dx.doi.org/10.2119/molmed.2014.00250

MLA:

Taubert, Helge, et al. "Piwil 2 expression is correlated with disease-specific and progression-free survival of chemotherapy-treated bladder cancer patients." Molecular Medicine 21 (2015): 371-80.

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