The role of TNF-α in chordoma progression and inflammatory pathways

Purpose Chordomas are highly therapy-resistant primary bone tumors that exhibit high relapse rates and may induce local destruction. Here, we evaluated the effects of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on chordoma progression and clinical outcome. Methods Chordoma cells were treated with TNF-alpha after which its short- and long-term effects were evaluated. Functional assays, qRT-PCR and microarray-based expression analyses were carried out to assess the effect of TNF-alpha on chemo-resistance, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration, invasion and cancer stem cell-like properties. Finally, relationships between TNF-alpha expression and clinicopathological features were assessed in a chordoma patient cohort. Results We found that TNF-alpha treatment increased the migration and invasion of chordoma cells. Also, NF-kappa B activation was observed along with increased EMT marker expression. In addition, enhanced tumor sphere formation and soft agar colony formation were observed, concomitantly with increased chemo-resistance and CD338 marker expression. The TNF-alpha and TNFR1 expression levels were found to be significantly correlated with LIF, PD-L1 and Ki67 expression levels, tumor volume and a short survival time in patients. In addition, a high neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio was found to be associated with recurrence and a decreased overall survival. Conclusions From our data we conclude that TNF-alpha may serve as a prognostic marker for chordoma progression and that tumor-promoting inflammation may be a major factor in chordoma tumor progression.