Background/aim: Glioblastoma and astrocytoma are the most common brain tumors affecting adults 45-60 years of age. The poor prognosis for glioblastoma patients results from recurrence after treatment. There is therefore an urgent need to develop diagnostic and prognostic markers as well as new therapies.
Patients and methods: Microarray analyses of clinical specimens from glioblastoma patients were used to identify potential tumor markers. Expression of candidate genes was analyzed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry.
Results: Five potential markers (CD44 antigen (CD44), growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible, alpha (GADD45A), fibronectin 1 (FN1), CD63 antigen (CD63) and secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1)) showed expression patterns that correlated significantly with malignant glioma. In particular, expression of the CD44 antigen was elevated in more severe tumor types, and higher in tumor cores than in peripheral regions. However, lower levels of CD44 expression surprisingly correlated with lower survival.
Conclusion: The CD44 antigen is a promising candidate for further development as a prognostic and therapeutic tool.