MAGE-A gene expression in peripheral blood serves as a poor prognostic marker for patients with lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: MAGE-A genes belong to the cancer/testis antigens family. The prognostic significance of MAGE-A expression in the peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer is unknown. Therefore, this study evaluated the expression and possible prognostic significance of MAGE-A in the peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer. METHODS: In this study, we detected MAGE-A gene expression in the peripheral blood of 150 patients with lung cancer and 30 healthy donors using multiplex semi-nested PCR and analyzed their correlation with clinicopathological risk factors. RESULTS: MAGE-A expression was associated with factors indicating poor prognosis. The expression of MAGE-A and each individual MAGE-A gene were also associated with low overall survival in patients with lung cancer. CONCLUSION: The expression of MAGE-A genes in peripheral blood may act as a poor prognostic marker in patients with lung cancer.