Background: MAGE-A genes belong to the cancer/testis antigens family. The prognostic significance of MAGE-A expression in the peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer is unknown. Therefore, this study evaluated the expression and possible prognostic significance of MAGE-A in the peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer.
Methods: In this study, we detected MAGE-A gene expression in the peripheral blood of 150 patients with lung cancer and 30 healthy donors using multiplex semi-nested PCR and analyzed their correlation with clinicopathological risk factors.
Results: MAGE-A expression was associated with factors indicating poor prognosis. The expression of MAGE-A and each individual MAGE-A gene were also associated with low overall survival in patients with lung cancer.
Conclusion: The expression of MAGE-A genes in peripheral blood may act as a poor prognostic marker in patients with lung cancer.
Keywords: Biological marker; MAGE; lung cancer; metastasis; prognosis.
© 2018 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.