Clinical significance of the expression of tumor-associated antigen, RCAS1, and its soluble protein in pleural fluid in malignant mesothelioma

RCAS1 is a type II membrane protein which is also secreted as a soluble protein. RCAS1 may play a role in evading immune surveillance by tumor cells and be responsible for the aggressive behavior of tumors. We examined the usefulness of RCAS1 in the follow-up of malignant mesothelioma. In addition, we examined the usefulness of its soluble protein (sRCAS1) in pleural effusion for the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. We studied 38 patients with pleural malignant mesothelioma and examined the correlation between RCAS1 expression, clinicopathologic variables and overall survival. We also determined the pleural fluid sRCAS1 concentration with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We found that 34 out of 38 (89.5%) malignant mesothelioma cells stained for RCAS1. The positive rate was 90.9% in biphasic type, 78.6% in epithelioid type, and 100% in sarcomatoid type. No statistically significant correlation was observed between RCAS1 expression and gender, age, histology or clinical stage. Interestingly, survival of the malignant mesothelioma patients with RCAS1 expression was significantly increased compared with those without (median survival time: 13.0 vs. 4.3 months, p=0.011). Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors, using the Cox proportional hazards model, revealed that RCAS1 expression had a significantly positive effect on survival. sRCAS1 concentrations in pleural fluid in malignant mesothelioma were lower than those in lung cancer (2.18±2.20 vs. 46.3±129 U/ml; p=0.019). RCAS1 expression is informative for the follow-up of malignant mesothelioma patients. In addition, sRCAS1 in pleural fluid may be useful for the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma.