Prognostic and predictive value of EZH2 expression and the tumor immune microenvironment in Merkel cell carcinoma

Arbil Acikalin; Emine Bagir; Semra Paydas

doi:10.5114/pjp.2021.109516

eISSN: 2084-9869
ISSN: 1233-9687

Polish Journal of Pathology

Current issue Archive Manuscripts accepted About the journal Supplements Editorial board Abstracting and indexing Subscription Contact Instructions for authors Publication charge Ethical standards and procedures

Editorial System

Submit your Manuscript

Editorial Policies

Sarajevo Declaration on Integrity and Visibility of Scholarly Publications

Open access

2/2021
vol. 72

Send email

Copy url:

abstract:

Original paper

Prognostic and predictive value of EZH2 expression and the tumor immune microenvironment in Merkel cell carcinoma

Arbil Acikalin

¹

,

Emine Bagir

¹

,

Semra Paydas

²

Pathology Department, Medical Faculty, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
Oncology Department, Medical Faculty, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey

Pol J Pathol 2021; 72 (2): 140-147

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/pjp.2021.109516

Online publish date: 2021/09/30

View full text Get citation

PlumX metrics:

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and lethal type of skin cancer characterized by frequent recurrences and metastases. In view of the lack of a proven treatment option for MCC, we immunochemically evaluated the presence of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), PD-1, PD-L1, CD8, and EZH2 on slides prepared from tumor tissues of 13 patients with MCC, and examined their association with disease progression and overall survival. PD-1 was expressed on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in 92.3% of the patients. None of the tumor cells expressed PD-L1. CD8 levels were higher in MCPyV-positive tumors. Interestingly, higher CD8 levels correlated with better overall survival (p = 0.025), while higher EZH2 expression correlated with metastasis/recurrence (z = –1.396, p = 0.089). However, low EZH2 expression was associated with poor overall survival (χ2 = 3.745, Cramer V = 0.537, p = 0.086). These findings suggest that EZH2 plays a significant role in MCC and may be a promising therapeutic target.

keywords:

Prognostic and predictive value of EZH2 expression and the tumor immune microenvironment in Merkel cell carcinoma

Arbil Acikalin 1 , Emine Bagir 1 , Semra Paydas 2

CD8, EZH2, Merkel cell carcinoma, PD-1, PD-L1

Arbil Acikalin

¹

,

Emine Bagir

¹

,

Semra Paydas

²