Background: Little is known about the relation between HLA-I expression and the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. The aim of this retrospective study was to clarify the clinical significance of HLA-I heavy chain expression in gastric cancer.
Methods: The study subjects were 202 patients with gastric cancer who had undergone curative surgery. Tumors were examined for expression of HLA-I heavy chain antigens by immunohistochemistry. We analyzed the association of HLA-I heavy chain expression with clinicopathological parameters and patient prognosis.
Results: HLA-B/C expression showed association with deeper tumor invasion, higher incidence of lymph node metastasis, more advanced tumor stage, and higher incidence of recurrence. Patients with positive HLA-B/C expression had shorter 5-year overall and 5-year disease-free survival compared with patients whose tumors showed mixed and negative expression (P < 0.05 and 0.01, respectively). In multivariate analysis, although HLA-B/C expression was not recognized as an independent prognostic factor, it was an independent factor in predicting peritoneal recurrence after curative surgery in patients with gastric cancer [relative risk (RR): 9.924, P = 0.003].
Conclusion: Expression of HLA-B/C heavy chain is associated with tumor progression, and it could be a significant predictor of peritoneal recurrence after curative surgery in patients with gastric cancer.
(Copyright) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.