The receptor-tyrosine-kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) is a transmembrane protein belongs to receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. This study aimed to examine the expression of ROR1 in human ovarian cancer and investigate the relationship between its expression and the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients. In this present study, one-step quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (15 ovarian cancer samples of high FIGO stage, 15 ovarian cancer samples of low FIGO stage and nine normal ovary tissue samples) and immunohistochemistry by tissue microarrays (100 ovarian cancer samples and 50 normal ovary samples) were performed to characterize expression of the ROR1 gene in ovarian cancer. Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses were executed to evaluate the prognosis of ovarian cancer. The results of qPCR and IHC analysis showed that the expression of ROR1 in ovarian cancer was significantly higher than that in normal ovary tissues (all p < 0.05). Survival analysis showed that ROR1 protein expression was one of the independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival and overall survival (both p < 0.05). The data suggest that ROR1 expression is correlated with malignant attributes of ovarian cancer and it may serve as a novel prognostic marker in ovarian cancer.

Human trophoblastic cell surface antigen 2 (Trop2) has been suggested as an oncogene, which is associated with the different types of tumors. In this study, a human Fab antibody against Trop2 extracellular domain was isolated from phage library by phage display technology, and characterized by ELISA, FACS, fluorescence staining and Western blotting analysis. MTT, apoptosis assay and wound healing assay were employed to evaluate the inhibitory effects of Trop2 Fab on breast cancer cell growth in vitro, while tumor‐xenograft model was employed to evaluate the inhibitory effects on breast cancer growth in vivo. The results showed that Trop2 Fab inhibited the proliferation, induced the apoptosis and suspended the migration of MDA‐MB‐231 cells in a dose dependent manner. The expression caspase‐3 was activated, and the expression of Bcl‐2 was reduced while that of Bax was elevated in MDA‐MB‐231 cells by treating with Trop2 Fab. In addition, Trop2 Fab inhibited the growth of breast cancer xenografts and the expression of Bcl‐2 was reduced while that of Bax was elevated in xenografts. Trop2 Fab, which was isolated successfully in this research, is a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of Trop2 expressing breast cancer.

Melanoma-associated antigens (MAGE)-A9 has been reported to play important roles in the development of human cancers. However, the association between MAGE-A9 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not well understood. The study was to detect the expression of MAGE-A9 in human HCC and investigate the association between its expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of HCC. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), one-step quantitative -PCR (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses were performed to characterize the expression of MAGE-A9 in HCC cell lines and tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses were employed to evaluate the prognosis of 100 HCC patients. The results showed that the expression of MAGE-A9 in HCC was significantly higher than that in non-cancerous cells and tissues. Moreover, the expression level of the MAGE-A9 protein in HCC was related to the pathological grade (p = 0.003), portal vein invasion (p = 0.001), distant metastasis (p = 0.022) and TNM stage (p = 0.005). Cox regression analysis further revealed that MAGE-A9 expression is an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival (p = 0.006) and overall survival (p = 0.022). These data are the first to indicate that MAGE-A9 expression is a valuable prognostic biomarker for HCC and that high MAGE-A9 expression suggests unfavorable survival outcomes in HCC patients.

Background: Alpha B-crystallin (αB-crystallin) has been suggested to play an important role in the development of solid tumors. However, the association between αB-crystallin expression and clinicopathological characteristics of human laryngeal carcinoma is not well defined. This study aimed to examine the expression of αB-crystallin in human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and investigate the relationship between its expression and the prognosis of LSCC. Methods: Real-time polymerase chain reaction (six LSCC samples, six tumor-adjacent normal samples) and immunohistochemistry by tissue microarrays (109 LSCC samples and 28 tumor-adjacent normal samples) were performed to characterize expression of the αB-crystallin gene in LSCC. Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the prognosis of LSCC. Results: Real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry analysis showed that the expression of αB-crystallin in LSCC was significantly higher than that in tumor-adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, the expression level of αB-crystallin protein in LSCC was significantly related to alcohol consumption (P = 0.022), tumor differentiation (P = 0.007), pTNM stage (P = 0.041) and 5 years’ survival (P =0.030). COX multi-factor analysis showed that αB-crystallin (P = 0.013), as well as pTNM stage (P =0.027) and lymphatic metastasis (P = 0.015) were independent prognosis factors for LSCC. Conclusions: The data suggest that αB-crystallin expression is correlated with malignant phenotypes of LSCC and it may serve as a novel prognostic factor for LSCC.

Background: Latent membrane protein (LMP) 1 and LMP2A encoded by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are associated with the development of malignancies, but their expression in extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL) and the relationship with clinical characteristics of this disease remain poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the expression of LMP1 and LMP2A in ENKTL, and investigated the correlations between LMP1 and LMP2A expression with clinicopathological characteristics of ENKTL patients. Methods: Paraffin sections of surgically removed samples from 16 ENKTL patients were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and the related clinicopathological data were collected and analyzed. Results: Elevated expression (immunohistochemistry score ≥ 4) of LMP1 and LMP2A was detected in the tumor cells of ENKTL. High LMP1 expression was associated with positive B symptoms (p = 0.012), while high LMP2A expression was related to gender (p = 0.029). The expression of both LMP1 and LMP2A showed significant correlations with patients’ overall survival (p = 0.049, p = 0.036). Conclusion: LMP1 and LMP2A may be prognostic indicators of survival in patients with ENKTL. Virtual slides: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2443352538545899