Gut and Liver is an international journal of gastroenterology, focusing on the gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary tree, pancreas, motility, and neurogastroenterology. Gut atnd Liver delivers up-to-date, authoritative papers on both clinical and research-based topics in gastroenterology. The Journal publishes original articles, case reports, brief communications, letters to the editor and invited review articles in the field of gastroenterology. The Journal is operated by internationally renowned editorial boards and designed to provide a global opportunity to promote academic developments in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. +MORE
Yong Chan Lee |
Professor of Medicine Director, Gastrointestinal Research Laboratory Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Univ. California San Francisco San Francisco, USA |
Jong Pil Im | Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea |
Robert S. Bresalier | University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA |
Steven H. Itzkowitz | Mount Sinai Medical Center, NY, USA |
All papers submitted to Gut and Liver are reviewed by the editorial team before being sent out for an external peer review to rule out papers that have low priority, insufficient originality, scientific flaws, or the absence of a message of importance to the readers of the Journal. A decision about these papers will usually be made within two or three weeks.
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Qi Sun1,2 , Yao Fu1
, Xiaobing Chen3
, Lin Li1
, Hongyan Wu1
, Yixuan Liu2
, Haojun Xu2
, Guoren Zhou4
, Xiangshan Fan1
, and Hongping Xia1,2,5
Correspondence to:Guoren Zhou
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8084-2800
E-mail zhouguoren888@njmu.edu.cn
Xiangshan Fan
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4552-5858
E-mail fxs23@hotmail.com
Hongping Xia
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6454-2333
E-mail xiahongping@njmu.edu.cn
Qi Sun, Yao Fu, and Xiaobing Chen contributed equally to this work as first authors.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Gut Liver
Published online May 25, 2022
Copyright © Gut and Liver.
Background/Aims: Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancers (EBVaGCs) have unique molecular and clinicopathological characteristics. The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway is recently recognized as the critical innate immunity against pathogens and tumors. STING is also a master regulator in the cancer-immunity cycle and targeting STING could synergize with existing immune-checkpoint therapies. However, the role of STING in GC, especially in EBVaGC, and its correlation with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) remain largely unclear.
Methods: We collected 78 cases of EBVaGCs and 210 cases of EBV-negative GC (EBVnGC) from a total of 1,443 cases of GC analyzed by EBV-encoded small RNA in situ hybridization. We investigated STING and PD-L1 expression and their concomitant prognostic value in EBVaGCs and EBVnGCs using tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry. The effects of STING and PD-L1 expression on the overall survival of patients with EBVaGC or EBVnGC were assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis.
Results: We found that both STING and PD-L1 exhibited significantly higher expression in the EBVaGCs than that in the EBVnGCs. The expression of STING was positively correlated with that of PD-L1 in EBVaGCs. Simultaneous negative expression of STING and PD-L1, and positive expression of STING were independent prognostic risk factors for EBVaGC and EBVnGC, respectively.
Conclusions: This is the first prognostic retrospective study of STING and PD-L1 expression and the prognosis among EBVaGC and EBVnGC. The expression and prognostic value of STING and PD-L1 are different in the two types of GCs. STING and PD-L1 are promising prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for EBVaGC and EBVnGC.
Keywords: PD-L1, STING, Epstein-Barr virus, Gastric cancer, Biomarkers
Gut and Liver
Published online May 25, 2022
Copyright © Gut and Liver.
Qi Sun1,2 , Yao Fu1
, Xiaobing Chen3
, Lin Li1
, Hongyan Wu1
, Yixuan Liu2
, Haojun Xu2
, Guoren Zhou4
, Xiangshan Fan1
, and Hongping Xia1,2,5
1Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, 2Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences and State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and Key Laboratory of Antibody Technique of National Health Commission, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 3Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, 4Department of Oncology, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital and The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research, and 5Sir Run Run Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
Correspondence to:Guoren Zhou
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8084-2800
E-mail zhouguoren888@njmu.edu.cn
Xiangshan Fan
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4552-5858
E-mail fxs23@hotmail.com
Hongping Xia
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6454-2333
E-mail xiahongping@njmu.edu.cn
Qi Sun, Yao Fu, and Xiaobing Chen contributed equally to this work as first authors.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Background/Aims: Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancers (EBVaGCs) have unique molecular and clinicopathological characteristics. The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway is recently recognized as the critical innate immunity against pathogens and tumors. STING is also a master regulator in the cancer-immunity cycle and targeting STING could synergize with existing immune-checkpoint therapies. However, the role of STING in GC, especially in EBVaGC, and its correlation with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) remain largely unclear.
Methods: We collected 78 cases of EBVaGCs and 210 cases of EBV-negative GC (EBVnGC) from a total of 1,443 cases of GC analyzed by EBV-encoded small RNA in situ hybridization. We investigated STING and PD-L1 expression and their concomitant prognostic value in EBVaGCs and EBVnGCs using tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry. The effects of STING and PD-L1 expression on the overall survival of patients with EBVaGC or EBVnGC were assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis.
Results: We found that both STING and PD-L1 exhibited significantly higher expression in the EBVaGCs than that in the EBVnGCs. The expression of STING was positively correlated with that of PD-L1 in EBVaGCs. Simultaneous negative expression of STING and PD-L1, and positive expression of STING were independent prognostic risk factors for EBVaGC and EBVnGC, respectively.
Conclusions: This is the first prognostic retrospective study of STING and PD-L1 expression and the prognosis among EBVaGC and EBVnGC. The expression and prognostic value of STING and PD-L1 are different in the two types of GCs. STING and PD-L1 are promising prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for EBVaGC and EBVnGC.
Keywords: PD-L1, STING, Epstein-Barr virus, Gastric cancer, Biomarkers