Polish Journal of Pathology

Abstract

2/2021 vol. 72
Original paper

Prognostic and predictive value of EZH2 expression and the tumor immune microenvironment in Merkel cell carcinoma

  1. Pathology Department, Medical Faculty, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
  2. Oncology Department, Medical Faculty, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey
Pol J Pathol 2021; 72 (2): 140-147
Online publish date: 2021/09/30
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Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and lethal type of skin cancer characterized by frequent recurrences and metastases. In view of the lack of a proven treatment option for MCC, we immunochemically evaluated the presence of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), PD-1, PD-L1, CD8, and EZH2 on slides prepared from tumor tissues of 13 patients with MCC, and examined their association with disease progression and overall survival. PD-1 was expressed on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in 92.3% of the patients. None of the tumor cells expressed PD-L1. CD8 levels were higher in MCPyV-positive tumors. Interestingly, higher CD8 levels correlated with better overall survival (p = 0.025), while higher EZH2 expression correlated with metastasis/recurrence (z = –1.396, p = 0.089). However, low EZH2 expression was associated with poor overall survival (χ2 = 3.745, Cramer V = 0.537, p = 0.086). These findings suggest that EZH2 plays a significant role in MCC and may be a promising therapeutic target.
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