Relationship between SATB1 expression and prognosis in astrocytoma.

Special AT-rich-sequence-binding protein 1 (SATB1), a new type of gene regulator, has been reported to be expressed in various human cancers and may be associated with malignancy. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of SATB1 in astrocytoma and to determine its prognostic value for the overall survival of patients with astrocytoma. The expression of SATB1 protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) in human astrocytoma specimens was examined using immunohistochemistry and semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The relationship between SATB1 expression and O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status was also investigated. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to describe the association between SATB1 expression and the clinical parameters of astrocytoma patients. SATB1 protein and mRNA were expressed at significant levels in astrocytoma specimens. SATB1 expression was positively correlated with astrocytoma pathological grade but negatively correlated with the life span of astrocytoma patients. SATB1 expression was also significantly lower in astrocytoma specimens with MGMT promoter methylation than in those without MGMT promoter methylation. Our findings suggest that SATB1 may have an important role as a positive regulator of astrocytoma development and progression and that SATB1 might be a useful molecular marker for predicting the prognosis of patients with astrocytoma and could be a novel target for treating astrocytoma.