Vulcani-Freitas Tânia Maria, Saba-Silva Nasjla, Cappellano Andréa, Cavalheiro Sérgio, Toledo Sílvia Regina Caminada de
Pediatric Oncology Institute, GRAACC, Federal University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2011 Feb;69(1):9-12. doi: 10.1590/s0004-282x2011000100003.
Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant tumors of central nervous system in the childhood. The treatment is severe, harmful and, thus, has a dismal prognosis. As PRAME is present in various cancers, including meduloblastoma, and has limited expression in normal tissues, this antigen can be an ideal vaccine target for tumor immunotherapy. In order to find a potential molecular target, we investigated PRAME expression in medulloblastoma fragments and we compare the results with the clinical features of each patient. Analysis of gene expression was performed by real-time quantitative PCR from 37 tumor samples. The Mann-Whitney test was used to analysis the relationship between gene expression and clinical characteristics. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to evaluate survival. PRAME was overexpressed in 84% samples. But no statistical association was found between clinical features and PRAME overexpression. Despite that PRAME gene could be a strong candidate for immunotherapy since it is highly expressed in medulloblastomas.
髓母细胞瘤是儿童中枢神经系统最常见的恶性肿瘤。其治疗手段严苛、有害，因此预后不佳。由于PRAME存在于包括髓母细胞瘤在内的多种癌症中，且在正常组织中表达有限，这种抗原可成为肿瘤免疫治疗的理想疫苗靶点。为了找到潜在的分子靶点，我们研究了PRAME在髓母细胞瘤片段中的表达，并将结果与每位患者的临床特征进行比较。通过实时定量PCR对37个肿瘤样本进行基因表达分析。采用曼-惠特尼检验分析基因表达与临床特征之间的关系。使用Kaplan-Meier曲线评估生存率。84%的样本中PRAME过表达。但未发现临床特征与PRAME过表达之间存在统计学关联。尽管如此，由于PRAME基因在髓母细胞瘤中高度表达，它可能是免疫治疗的有力候选者。
