Aberrant sialylation of glycoproteins has been detected in many tumors, and upregulation of the beta-galactosamide alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase 1 (ST6GAL1) has been implicated with tumor aggressiveness and chemoresistance in experimental models. In our present study, we aimed to study the prognostic or predictive role of ST6GAL1 in ovarian carcinoma, using two independent ovarian cancer cohorts. ST6GAL1 mRNA levels were retrieved from a publicly available database (n = 517), and ST6GAL1 protein levels were analyzed by western blot analysis in a cohort of 204 ovarian tumor samples. The results were correlated with clinical and histological tumor parameters and follow-up information. High ST6GAL1 mRNA levels significantly correlated with lymphovascular invasion and shorter survival, whereas high ST6GAL1 protein expression was associated with advanced stage, distant metastasis and shorter recurrence-free intervals. In both cohorts the prognostic role was most pronounced in tumors without macroscopically visible residual tumor after surgery. In these cases, ST6GAL1 expression levels might help to identify cases with a higher risk of chemoresistance and metastatic relapse that might require an adapted therapeutic regime.

中文翻译：

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唾液酸转移酶ST6GAL1在卵巢癌中的预后作用

已经在许多肿瘤中检测到糖蛋白的唾液酸化异常，并且在实验模型中，β-半乳糖酰胺α-2,6-唾液酸转移酶1（ST6GAL1）的上调与肿瘤的侵袭性和化学抗性有关。在本研究中，我们旨在使用两个独立的卵巢癌队列研究ST6GAL1在卵巢癌中的预后或预测作用。ST6GAL1 mRNA水平从可公开获得的数据库中检索（n= 517），并通过Western印迹分析在204个卵巢肿瘤样品队列中分析了ST6GAL1蛋白水平。结果与临床和组织学肿瘤参数以及随访信息相关。ST6GAL1 mRNA高水平与淋巴管浸润和生存期短相关，而ST6GAL1蛋白高表达与晚期，远处转移和较短的无复发间隔有关。在这两个队列中，在无肉眼可见的术后残留肿瘤的肿瘤中，预后作用最为明显。在这些情况下，ST6GAL1的表达水平可能有助于鉴定具有较高化学抗药性和转移性复发风险的病例，可能需要采用合适的治疗方案。