ATRX and Its Prognostic Significance in Soft Tissue Sarcoma

TL;DR

This study shows that high ATRX expression in soft tissue sarcomas is linked to better survival outcomes.

Contribution

The study demonstrates ATRX as a positive prognostic marker in soft tissue sarcomas using both univariate and multivariate analyses.

Findings

High ATRX expression correlates with improved overall survival in soft tissue sarcomas.

High ATRX expression is associated with better metastasis-free survival in sarcoma patients.

Abstract

Recently, the association between ATRX and a more aggressive sarcoma phenotype has been shown. We performed a retrospective study of sarcomas from an individual institution to evaluate ATRX as a prognosticator in soft tissue sarcoma. Experimental Design. 128 sarcomas were collected from a single institution and stained for ATRX. The prognostic significance of these markers was evaluated in a smaller cohort of primary soft tissue sarcomas (n = 68). Kaplan–Meier curves were created for univariate analysis, and Cox regression was utilized for multivariate analysis.

High expression of ATRX was found to be a positive prognostic indicator for overall survival and metastasis-free survival in our group of soft tissue sarcomas both in univariate analysis and multivariate analysis (HR: 0.38 (0.17–0.85), P=0.02 and HR: 0.49 (0.24–0.99), P=0.05, respectively).

High expression of ATRX is a positive prognostic indicator of overall survival and metastasis-free survival in patients with STS. This is consistent with studies in osteosarcoma, which indicate possible mechanisms through which loss of ATRX leads to more aggressive phenotypes. Future prospective clinical studies are required to validate the prognostic significance of these findings.

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