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International Journal of Clinical Oncology

Published in:

01-10-2017 | Original Article

High expression of GRP78/BiP as a novel predictor of favorable outcomes in patients with advanced thymic carcinoma

Authors: Yosuke Miura, Kyoichi Kaira, Reiko Sakurai, Hisao Imai, Yoshio Tomizawa, Noriaki Sunaga, Koichi Minato, Takeshi Hisada, Tetsunari Oyama, Masanobu Yamada

Published in: International Journal of Clinical Oncology | Issue 5/2017

Abstract

Background

Glucose-regulated protein (GRP) 78/immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein (BiP) is a member of the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone family, and its role in various types of human malignancies has recently been investigated. However, the clinicopathological characteristics of GRP78/BiP in advanced thymic carcinoma (ATC) remain unknown. We aimed to examine the relationship between GRP78/BiP expression and the clinical outcomes of ATC patients.

Methods

Thirty-four patients with ATC receiving combination chemotherapy at three institutions between April 1998 and April 2014 were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively collected patient characteristics such as therapeutic efficacy, pathological findings, and survival data from their medical records. We performed immunohistochemical analysis to evaluate the expression of GRP78/BiP in tumor specimens obtained from surgical resection or biopsy.

Results

This study included 21 men (68%) and 13 women (32%) with a median age of 62 years (range 36–75 years). GRP78/BiP overexpression was observed in 65% of the patients (22 of 34 patients). There was no correlation between GRP78/BiP expression and any patient characteristic. Patients with a high level of GRP78/BiP expression had significantly longer overall survival (OS) compared to those with a low level (46.2 vs. 16.8 months, p = 0.04). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that a high level of GRP78/BiP expression was an independent prognostic factor for prolonged OS.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that the overexpression of GRP78/BiP is a novel predictor of favorable outcomes in patients with ATC who receive combination chemotherapy.

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Title: High expression of GRP78/BiP as a novel predictor of favorable outcomes in patients with advanced thymic carcinoma
Authors: Yosuke Miura
Kyoichi Kaira
Reiko Sakurai
Hisao Imai
Yoshio Tomizawa
Noriaki Sunaga
Koichi Minato
Takeshi Hisada
Tetsunari Oyama
Masanobu Yamada
Publication date: 01-10-2017
Publisher: Springer Japan
Published in: International Journal of Clinical Oncology / Issue 5/2017
Print ISSN: 1341-9625
Electronic ISSN: 1437-7772
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-017-1142-x

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Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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