The Prognostic Role of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin and Kidney Injury Molecule-1 Expressions in Gastric Carcinomas.

The survival rate among stomach adenocarcinoma patients is exceedingly low. NGAL (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin) has pivotal roles in cell proliferation, immunity, and tumorigenesis. KIM-1 (Kidney Injury Molecule-1), also referred to as TIM-1 and HAVcr-1, is a transmembrane glycoprotein located in healthy immune cells and epithelial cells, and its upregulated form is generally found in several human cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of the expression of KIM-1 and NGAL in stomach cancers and identify NGAL-positive inflammatory cells in the tumor microenvironment. We immunohistochemically evaluated the expression of NGAL and KIM1 in 172 cases of stomach adenocarcinomas. The mean age of the patients was 64.07 ± 12.35 years, and the mean and median follow-up period were 25.5 and 20.3 months, respectively. The expression rates of KIM-1 and NGAL in tumor cells were identical at 31.4% (n = 54). In 27 of these cases, both proteins were present. Among the deceased patients, the rate of simultaneous KIM-1 and NGAL positivity was relatively higher ( = 0.041). NGAL-positive inflammatory cells were observed in 13.4% of cases, with no significant correlation between these cells and survival times ( = 0.497). However, there was a negative correlation between survival times and KIM-1 ( = 0.037) and NGAL ( = 0.016) expressions in tumor cells. The present study has shown that KIM-1- and NGAL-positive tumor cells are influential in gastric tumorigenesis. Given the progress in anti-KIM-1 therapy, the presence of KIM-1 expression could contribute to the development of new treatment options for aggressive gastric cancer. However, these discoveries need to be validated in larger-scale studies.