The clinical significance of fascin expression in a newly diagnosed primary glioblastoma

The actin-binding protein fascin has been associated with clinically aggressive tumors and poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate possibility of fascin expression as a prognostic factor in a newly diagnosed primary glioblastoma (GBM). Between July 2007 and December 2013, 37 out of 126 patients diagnosed with GBM satisfied the following inclusion criteria: (1) the presence of immunohistochemically-available tissue, (2) a new primary GBM, (3) gross-total resection, and (4) standardized adjuvant treatment, known as the Stupp regimen. The median follow-up period was 18 months (range 5–95). According to the staining intensity of fascin, progression-free survival (PFS) in the low-intensity fascin group (median PFS 9.0 months; 95 % CI 6.0–12.0) was longer than PFS in the high-intensity fascin group (median PFS 7.0 months; 95 % CI 5.6–10.4; p = 0.024). Overall survival (OS) in the low-intensity fascin group (median OS 20.0 months; 95 % CI 17.7–22.4) was longer than OS in the high-intensity fascin group (median OS 13.0 months; 95 % CI 8.2–17.8; p = 0.031). And, the staining intensity of fascin was a statistically significant factor in PFS and OS according to univariate and multivariate analyses (univariate analysis p = 0.043 and p = 0.043; multivariate analysis p = 0.041 and p = 0.044). Our clinical study showed that fascin expression intensity may be correlated with clinical outcomes of a newly diagnosed primary GBM, especially with regard to PFS and OS.