Background and objectives: The clinical significance of CCL5 has been reported in several malignancies. In this study, we examined the prognostic impact of serum CCL5 levels and the expression of CCL5 receptors on tumor cells in patients with gastric cancer.
Methods: Serum CCL5 levels in patients with gastric cancer were measured by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. Immunohistochemical staining of three chemokine receptors, CCR1, CCR3, and CCR5, which are known as CCL5 receptors, was performed in gastric cancer tissue.
Results: We found that serum CCL5 levels themselves had no impact on survival; however, higher serum CCL5 concentrations were associated with more advanced disease. Eighty-six (41%), 48 (23%), and 60 patients (28%) showed positive expression of CCR1, CCR3, and CCR5, respectively, on gastric cancer cells. Among the patients who underwent curative resection for stages II-IV disease, patients with positive CCR3 expression had significantly lower survival rates compared to those with negative CCR3 expression. Unlike CCR1, positive CCR5 expression was also associated with poorer prognosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that expression of CCR3 and/or CCR5 was an independent prognostic factor.
Conclusions: Tumor expression of CCR3 and/or CCR5 (receptors for CCL5) is associated with a lower survival rate in patients with gastric cancer.
(Copyright) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.