PRAME gene expression profile in medulloblastoma

Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2011 Feb;69(1):9-12. doi: 10.1590/s0004-282x2011000100003.

Abstract

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant tumors of central nervous system in the childhood. The treatment is severe, harmful and, thus, has a dismal prognosis. As PRAME is present in various cancers, including meduloblastoma, and has limited expression in normal tissues, this antigen can be an ideal vaccine target for tumor immunotherapy. In order to find a potential molecular target, we investigated PRAME expression in medulloblastoma fragments and we compare the results with the clinical features of each patient. Analysis of gene expression was performed by real-time quantitative PCR from 37 tumor samples. The Mann-Whitney test was used to analysis the relationship between gene expression and clinical characteristics. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to evaluate survival. PRAME was overexpressed in 84% samples. But no statistical association was found between clinical features and PRAME overexpression. Despite that PRAME gene could be a strong candidate for immunotherapy since it is highly expressed in medulloblastomas.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antigens, Neoplasm / genetics*
  • Cerebellar Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Cerebellar Neoplasms / therapy
  • Child
  • Gene Expression Profiling / methods*
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy
  • Medulloblastoma / genetics*
  • Medulloblastoma / therapy
  • Neoplasm Proteins / genetics*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods
  • Statistics, Nonparametric

Substances

  • Antigens, Neoplasm
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • PRAME protein, human