Correlation between TAP detection and common digestive tract precancerous lesions

Tumor abnormal protein as a promising biomarker for screening solid malignancies and monitoring recurrence and metastasis

Background

Tumor abnormal protein (TAP), the sugar chain protein released by tumor cells during metabolism, allows the development of a technique that exploits aggregated tumor-associated abnormal sugar chain signals in diagnosing malignancies. Clinically, we have found that TAP detection can well predict some malignancies, but several physicians have not paid attention, and related studies have been minimal.

Methods

We evaluated TAP's ability to distinguish between malignancies and benign diseases by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and studied the possibility of monitoring malignancy progression by evaluating TAP levels in follow-up. We used Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazard regression models to investigate the relationship between TAP and prognosis.

Results

TAP levels were higher in whole solid malignancies and every type of solid malignancy than in benign patients. ROC curve analysis showed that TAP levels aid in distinguishing between malignancies and benign diseases. TAP levels decreased in patients with complete remission (CR) after treatment and increased in patients with relapse from CR. Patients with metastases had higher TAP levels than non-CR patients without metastases. There was no difference in overall survival among patients with different TAP levels, and multivariate analysis suggested that TAP was not an independent risk factor for solid malignancies.

Conclusion

TAP is an effective screening biomarker for many solid malignancies that can be used to monitor the progression of malignancies but not to prognosticate.

Peripheral Blood Markers Predictive of Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients Treated With PD-1 Inhibitors Plus Chemotherapy as First-Line Therapy

Aim: To determine the prognostic value of peripheral blood markers in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients receiving programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitors plus chemotherapy as first-line therapy. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 54 patients with advanced ESCC was performed to assess 12 blood markers involving inflammation, nutrition, and tumor burden. Analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to explore the difference in markers among different response to therapy. Survival curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate Cox models were applied to identify independent predictors of outcome. Results: Patients who achieved response had significantly higher prealbumin, increased BMI, and lower hs-CRP levels at baseline compared with those who experienced disease progression. In the univariate analysis, ALI > 23.55, PNI > 45.175, NLR ≤ 5, and hs-CRP ≤ 6.7 mg/L were significantly associated with a better progression-free survival. Cox regression analysis revealed that ALI >23.55 (P = 0.037) and hs-CRP ≤6.7 mg/L (P = 0.043) were independently associated with superior PFS. Increased tumor abnormal protein (TAP) levels post two cycles was significantly associated with a worse prognosis (P = 0.004). Conclusions: A baseline signature of low ALI and high hs-CRP as well as an early increase in TAP in ESCC appear to be predictive of inferior PFS.

Identification of immune-related genes that predict prognosis and risk of bladder cancer: bioinformatics analysis of TCGA database

Background: Bladder cancer (BLCA) is the major tumor of the urinary system, and immune-related genes (IRGs) contribute significantly to its initiation and prognosis.

Results: A total of 51 prognostic IRGs significantly associated with overall survival were identified. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that these genes were actively involved in tumor-related functions and pathways. Using multivariate Cox regression analysis, we detected 11 optimal IRGs (ADIPOQ, PPY, NAMPT, TAP1, AHNAK, OLR1, PDGFRA, IL34, MMP9, RAC3, and SH3BP2). We validated the prognostic value of this signature in two validation cohorts: GSE13507 (n = 165) and GSE32894 (n = 224). Furthermore, we performed a western blot and found that the expression of these IRGs matched their mRNA expression in TCGA. Moreover, correlations between risk score and immune-cell infiltration indicated that the prognostic signature reflected infiltration by several types of immune cells.

Conclusion: We identified and validated an 11-IRG-based risk signature that may be a reliable tool to evaluate the prognosis of BLCA patients and help to devise individualized immunotherapies.

Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was performed using TCGA and ImmPort databases. Cox regression was used to identify prognostic signatures. Two external GEO cohorts and western blotting of samples were performed to validate the IRG signature.

High Expression of Tumor Abnormal Protein Preoperatively Predicts Poor Prognosis of Patients With Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) acts as a fatal malignant tumor among human beings and is marked by late-stage diagnosis, frequent recurrence, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Tumor abnormal protein (TAP) remarkably affects cancer development and progression of human cancers. TAP has been shown to be a biomarker for gastric and lung cancer progression. Nevertheless, the clinical value exhibited by TAP for ESCC has not been well-explained in the current literature.

Methods: The present study included 183 ESCC cases who received surgical resection and 183 cases who had normal physical checkup from March 2013 to January 2015 at the People's Hospital of Chizhou, and used the TAP detection agent for evaluating the TAP relative level.

Results: As found, ESCC patients presented an obviously higher TAP expression relative to cases who had normal physical checkup. Moreover, TAP expression was significantly downregulated after surgery. Furthermore, the TAP expression was correlated with gender, smoking, pathologic differentiation, and pN stage, but not with age, tumor location, surgical type, pT stage, and vascular invasion. High expression of TAP was significantly correlated with poorer overall survival (OS) rate in ESCC patients. TAP was an independent prognostic predictor in ESCC patients, based on the multivariate survival analysis.

Conclusion: The study reveals how TAP upregulation promotes ESCC malignant progression, and concludes that TAP acts as the therapeutic target and potential biomarker specific to ESCC.

Increased Expression of TAP Is Predictive of Poor Prognosis in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background

The most common cancer among humans is lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprises the majority of these cases. In the development and progression of cancers across the spectrum, tumor abnormal protein (TAP) plays crucial roles. Additionally, in the advancement of the bladder and colorectal cancers, the involvement of glycoproteins like TAP is present. However, it is worth noting that current literature has yet to clarify the clinical significance of the TAP in NSCLC.

Methods

In the present study, to evaluate the relative level of TAP, we utilized a TAP detection agent in 154 cases of NSCLC and normal patients who underwent surgical resection anytime from March 2013 to January 2019 at the People's Hospital of Chizhou.

Results

Our results demonstrated that in NSCLC patients, the expression level of TAP was significantly higher than in normal patients. Moreover, after surgery, TAP expression was significantly downregulated in NSCLC patients. TAP expression is associated with an array of factors, which include the patient's sex, history of smoking use, tumor size, pTNM, distant cancer, metastasis of lymph nodes, invasive and aggressive indicator pleural invasion, and differentiation degree of NSCLC. Additionally, TAP has no association with the patient's age, history of drinking, location of the tumor, hypertension, and diabetes. In NSCLC patients, a poor overall survival rate within 5 years is significantly correlated with the increased TAP expression. For NSCLC patients, an independent prognostic factor is the TAP, which is confirmed using the multivariate survival analysis.

Conclusion

In the malignant progression of NSCLC, our results demonstrate how the promoting role of the upregulated TAP expression takes place. Hence, a therapeutic aim for NSCLC and a potential biomarker for NSCLC progress is a TAP.