Identification of cancer testis antigens as a prognostic marker for testicular tumor

肾细胞癌(RCC)患者癌组织中精巢抗原(CTA)、精子相关抗原4(SPAG4)的表达水平明显高于癌旁正常肾组织。在肾癌细胞中，SPAG4可被HIF稳定剂DFO诱导，这种诱导作用可被HIF1α基因阻断。SPAG4的表达与肾癌的分级和分期呈负相关，低表达与肾癌患者的无进展时间缩短显著相关。这些结果表明，SPAG4是受HIF调控的CTA，可能是肾癌的潜在预后候选基因。进一步的研究正在评估SPAG4作为睾丸肿瘤预后标志物的潜力。

We demonstrated that one of cancer testis antigens (CTAs), sperm associated antigen 4 (SPAG4), was highly up-regulated in cancer specimens from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients compared with adjacent normal renal tissues. In renal cancer cells, SPAG4 was induced by the treatment of HIF stabilizing agent, DFO, and this induction was blocked by the knockdown of HIF1 alpha. Finally, SPAG4 mRNA expression was inversely correlated with tumor grade and stage, and lower expression of SPAG4 mRNA was significantly associated with shorter progression-free time in patients with RCC. These results suggest that SPAG4 is HIF-regulated CTAs and may be a potential prognostic candidate for RCC. Further study is ongoing to evaluate the potential of SPAG4 as a prognostic marker for testicular tumor.