Different expressions of sialyl Tn antigen between polypoid and flat-type early colorectal cancers

Esophageal, gastric and colorectal cancers: Looking beyond classical serological biomarkers towards glycoproteomics-assisted precision oncology

Esophageal (OC), gastric (GC) and colorectal (CRC) cancers are amongst the digestive track tumors with higher incidence and mortality due to significant molecular heterogeneity. This constitutes a major challenge for patients' management at different levels, including non-invasive detection of the disease, prognostication, therapy selection, patient's follow-up and the introduction of improved and safer therapeutics. Nevertheless, important milestones have been accomplished pursuing the goal of molecular-based precision oncology. Over the past five years, high-throughput technologies have been used to interrogate tumors of distinct clinicopathological natures, generating large-scale biological datasets (e.g. genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics). As a result, GC and CRC molecular subtypes have been established to assist patient stratification in the clinical settings. However, such molecular panels still require refinement and are yet to provide targetable biomarkers. In parallel, outstanding advances have been made regarding targeted therapeutics and immunotherapy, paving the way for improved patient care; nevertheless, important milestones towards treatment personalization and reduced off-target effects are also to be accomplished. Exploiting the cancer glycoproteome for unique molecular fingerprints generated by dramatic alterations in protein glycosylation may provide the necessary molecular rationale towards this end. Therefore, this review presents functional and clinical evidences supporting a reinvestigation of classical serological glycan biomarkers such as sialyl-Tn (STn) and sialyl-Lewis A (SLe^A) antigens from a tumor glycoproteomics perspective. We anticipate that these glycobiomarkers that have so far been employed in non-invasive cancer prognostication may hold unexplored value for patients' management in precision oncology settings.

Increased expression of sialyl Le(x) antigen in non-polypoid growth type of colorectal carcinoma

Colorectal carcinoma can be morphologically divided into two different categories, namely polypoid growth (PG-type) and non-polypoid growth (NPG-type). To ascertain whether the expression of sialyl Le(x) antigen correlates with biologically and clinically important differences, an immunohistochemical assay was performed in 30 PG-type and 119 NPG-type cancers. In contrast to PG-type, the characteristics of the NPG-type include (1) an increased expression of sialyl Le(x); (2) a high rate of lymph node metastasis; (3) a high proportion of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma cells; (4) young age of onset. It is concluded that differences in sialyl Le(x) expression between the PG-type and NPG-type cancers may be at least partly responsible for different tumor progression behavior.

Differences in sialyl-Tn antigen expression between keratoacanthomas and cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas

Keratoacanthoma and squamous cell carcinoma are common skin tumors, especially in immunosuppressed transplant recipients, but the distinction between these two types of epidermal neoplasia may be difficult. Sialyl-Tn (Sia-GalNAc-O-Ser/Thr) is a cell surface carbohydrate associated with hyperplasia in squamous epithelium, and correlated with poor prognosis in several human adenocarcinomas. Twenty-seven keratoacanthomas and 29 cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas were examined for the expression of sialyl-Tn and of the Ki67 epitope, the latter a marker for cell proliferation. By immunohistochemistry, basaloid tumor cells at the periphery of tumor nests showed some degree of sialyl-Tn expression in 16 keratoacanthomas (59%), while only three squamous cell carcinomas (10%) showed sialyl-Tn-positive basaloid tumor cells (p<0.001). Keratinized, differentiated tumor cells were more often sialyl-Tn-positive in keratoacanthomas (89%) than in squamous cell carcinomas (31%) (p<0.001). A striking sialyl-Tn-positivity in the basal cell layer was found in a border zone directly adjacent to most tumors of both types (88 and 88%). By immunohistochemical examination of parallel sections and by double immunofluorescence, sialyl-Tn antigen expression was primarily seen in cells that did not express Ki67, although some overlap was present. Keratoacanthomas from transplant recipients did not differ in sialyl-Tn expression compared to those from non-immunosuppressed patients. The results indicate that sialyl-Tn expression is not directly related to cell proliferation, but rather to cellular features of post-mitotic cells, and that sialyl-Tn is not associated with a malignant phenotype. Sialyl-Tn may be linked to tumor regression, as seen in keratoacanthomas.