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Overexpression of β1,4N-Acetylgalactosaminyl- transferase mRNA as a Molecular Marker for Various Types of Cancers

Objective: To determine GalNAcT mRNA expression in human carcinoma cell lines and primary tumor tissues. Assessment of the potential use of GalNAcT mRNA as a molecular marker for detection of metastatic cancer cells in the peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods/Results: We investigated GalNAcT mRNA expression in various human cancer cell lines and primary cancer tissues using RT-PCR assay for GalNAcT mRNA. The expression of GalNAcT mRNA was detected in 25 of 26 cancer cell lines tested and in the majority of primary tumors from different organs: 8 of 10 colon cancers, 9 of 9 breast cancers, 11 of 12 esophageal cancers, 14 of 14 gastric cancers, 4 of 18 pancreatic cancers, 6 of 12 biliary tract cancers, 17 of 18 hepatocellular carcinomas and 13 of 14 lung cancers. Semi-quantitative analysis with duplex RT-PCR showed that the amount of the GalNAcT mRNA was enhanced in cancer tissues as compared to the surrounding cancer-free tissues. Blood specimens of 5 of 14 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were positive for GalNAcT mRNA, all of whom developed recurrent disease in less than 24 months. Peripheral blood samples of 30 normal subjects were negative for GalNAcT mRNA. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the RT-PCR assay for GalNAcT mRNA could be a potentially useful molecular marker for detecting cancer dissemination in blood circulation of patients with malignancy.