ATG7 immunohistochemical expression in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. A preliminary report

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader ATG7 immunohistochemical expression in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. A preliminary report Via Cellular and Molecular Biology Histol Histopathol. 2021 Nov 11:18396. doi: 10.14670/HH-18-396. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Literature evidence has demonstrated a high incidence of asbestos-related malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in a Sicilian town (Biancavilla, Italy), where fluoro-edenite (FE) fibers were discovered some decades ago. As ATG7 immunohistochemical analysis has been ascribed as a prognostic tool of improved survival, we decided to investigate, in MPM patients, exposed and not exposed to FE fibers, the immunohistochemical expression of this autophagy-related protein named ATG7. We analyzed the correlation between ATG7 immunohistochemical level and clinicopathological parameters. Twenty MPM tissue samples, from patients with available clinical and follow-up data, were included in paraffin and processed for immunohistochemistry. The immunohistochemical results confirmed activation of the autophagic process in MPM. Densitometric and morphometric e xpressions of ATG7 were significantly increased in MPMs when compared to the control tissues. A significant association of a high level of ATG7 with increased survival was demonstrated, with a mean overall survival (OS) of 12.5 months for patients with high expression vs. a mean OS of 4.5 months for patients with low ATG7 expression. In addition, a significant correlation between ATG7 expression and the survival time of MPM patients was observed. This study represents a starting point to hypothesize the prognostic role of ATG7 which could be a reliable prognostic indicator in MPM. PMID:34761371 | DOI:10.14670/HH-18-396 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.