Colorectal cancer represents a paradigmatic model of inflammatory carcinogenesis accompanied by the production of several kinds of tumor-associated autoantibodies (TAABs). The specific aim of this study is to define the clinical impact of the presence of non-specific circulating TAABs in a cohort of cancer patients and to establish whether significant differences were present between colorectal cancer and cancers at other sites. For this aim a prospective study was developed and a five-year survival analysis performed. Indirect immunofluorescence on rat tissues for non-organ specific autoantibodies (NOSAs: liver-kidney-stomach), on rat colon substrates (colon-related autoantibodies, CAAs) and on HEp-2 cell lines was performed. NOSA positivity was more frequent in patients with colorectal cancer than in those with cancer at other sites. Survival analysis demonstrated a significantly worse prognosis in cancer patients positive for TAABs. CAA positivity is a predictor of survival, independently from the presence of comorbidities, and HEp-2 reactivity was a strong predictor of survival in a stepwise Cox-regression model, including stage at diagnosis. Overall overproduction of TAABs is associated with advanced oncological disease, the presence of metastasis, and poorer prognosis of cancer patients.
Keywords: autoantibodies; autoimmunity; cancer; prognosis; prospective study.