Purpose: The T-box transcription factor brachyury has been demonstrated as a prognostic factor in a variety of cancer types and considered a novel oncotarget in solid tumors. Brachyury acts as a regulator of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, leading to more aggressive behavior and poorer prognosis. However, recent literature evidence suggests a tumor suppressor role in other neoplasms. In the present study, we aimed to study brachyury expression and its prognostic impact in Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive neoplasm of young individuals.
Methods: We analyzed the expression of brachyury by immunohistochemistry in a series of 96 Ewing sarcomas in a tissue microarray and investigated the association of the protein expression with the clinical parameters and overall survival.
Results: More than half of the cases (51%, n = 49) depicted positive nuclear brachyury expression, while a lack of expression was observed in 49% (n = 47) of cases. Nuclear brachyury staining was significantly associated with non-white ethnicity (p = 0.04) and axial localization (p = 0.025). Importantly, lack of brachyury expression was significantly associated with lower overall survival in multivariate analyses (hazard ratio - HR: 2.227, p = 0.008).
Conclusions: Our findings indicate, that brachyury is an independent prognostic biomarker in Ewing sarcoma, which might suggest a tumor suppressor role and which yet to be fully elucidated.
Keywords: Biomarkers; Brachyury; Ewing sarcoma; Prognosis; Tumor suppressor.
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