Expression of pituitary transforming gene 1 in renal clear cell carcinoma and its association with prognosis

Abstract

Objective To inyestigate the expression of pituitary transforming gene 1 (PTTG1) in renal clear cell carcinoma (RCCC) tissues and explore its association with the prognosis. Methods PTTG1 mRNA and protein levels were assessed in 41 paired RCCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) and immunohistochemistry respectively. Further immunohistochemical analysis was implemented in 89 samples of RCCC to evaluate the associations between PTTG1 levels and the clinical characteristics in RCCC. Results FQ-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the PTTG1 mRNA and protein levels were significantly higher in RCCC compared to normal tissues (P=0.007). In addition, the PTTG1 protein level in 89 RCCC samples was found to be significantly correlated with Fuhrman grade (P=0.026) and TNM stage (P=0.031), whereas it was not associated with gender (P=0.123), age (P=0.338) and recurrence (P=0.285). The five-year survival rate was 35.3% and 72.7% in patients with high and low PTTG1 levels respectively. The survival time of RCCC patients with high PTTG1 level was significantly lower than those with low PTTG1 1evel (P=0.029). Conclusion The overexpression of PTTG1 indicates a poor prognosis in RCCC patients and, therefore, PTTG1 may serve as a novel prognostic marker for RCCC. Key words: Pituitary transforming gene 1; Renal clear cell carcinoma; Survival rate; Prognosis