Kallikrein-related peptidase 13 (KLK13) gene expressional status contributes significantly in the prognosis of primary gastric carcinomas

Objectives: Gastric cancer is a fatal human malignancy with poor prognosis. Modifications in gene expression, including those of the kallikrein-related peptidase family, have been portrayed in gastric carcinogenesis. Given KLK13 involvement in human malignancies, we aimed to uncover its prognostic strength in stomach cancer. Design and methods: Quantitative analysis of KLK13 profiles was accomplished in human gastric cancer cells and in a statistically significant sample size of stomach tissue specimens with the development of the highly sensitive real-time PCR methodology. Results: Decreased KLK13 expression was demonstrated in cancerous compared with their matching nonmalignant pairs (p = 0.002) and in poorly differentiated gastric tumors (p = 0.029). KLK13-positive patients were shown to live considerably longer (p = 0.014) and with low risk of disease recurrences (p = 0.043). Conclusions: This is the first study disclosing the possible clinical utility of KLK13 as a new tumor biomarker capable of predicting a favorable outcome for gastric cancer patients. (C) 2010 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.