Prognostic and predictive role of YKL-40 in anal squamous cell carcinoma: a serological and tissue-based analysis in a multicentric cohort

TL;DR

This study explores the role of YKL-40 as a potential biomarker for predicting outcomes and treatment response in anal squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Contribution

The study is the first to evaluate YKL-40's prognostic and predictive roles in anal squamous cell carcinoma using both serum and tissue data.

Findings

High serum YKL-40 levels are associated with older age, comorbidities, and increased mortality in ASC patients.

YKL-40 expression in peritumor immune cells correlates with poor response to chemoradiotherapy.

Serum YKL-40 levels are linked to poor prognosis in ASC patients.

Abstract

Anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASC) is a rare gastrointestinal malignancy showing an increased incidence over the past decades. YKL-40 is an immune modulator and pro-angiogenetic factor that showed a promising prognostic and predictive potential in several malignancies, but limited data are available for ASC. This study aims to provide an extensive evaluation of the prognostic and predictive role of YKL-40 in a multicenter cohort of ASC patients.

We retrospectively retrieved 72 consecutive cases of ASC diagnosed between February 2011 and March 2021. Both serum and tissue protein expression of YKL-40 were assessed, the latter in ASC tumor cells and peritumor immune cells.

Increased YKL-40 serum levels at the time of diagnosis were associated with older age (p = 0.035), presence of cardiovascular/metabolic comorbidities (p = 0.007), and death for any cause (p = 0.011). In addition, high serum levels of YKL-40 were associated with a poor prognosis (HR: 2.82, 95% CI: 1.01–7.84; p = 0.047). Protein expression of YKL-40 in ASC tumor cells was significantly associated with low tumor grade (p = 0.031), while the increased expression in peritumor immune cells was associated with a worse response of patients to chemoradiotherapy (p = 0.007). However, YKL-40 protein expression in ASC tumor cells or peritumor immune cells did not significantly impact patient overall survival.

In conclusion, YKL-40 resulted a relevant prognostic (serum level) and predictive (tissue protein expression in peritumor immune cells) biomarker and can considerably improve ASC patient clinical management.

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