Overexpression of acylglycerol kinase is associated with poorer prognosis and lymph node metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Acylglycerol kinase (AGK) has been reported to promote a malignant phenotype and enhance the development of cancer stem cells. However, the clinical value of AGK in cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the expression and clinicopathological significance of AGK in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). AGK was significantly upregulated in NPC cell lines and clinical specimens as indicated by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Among the AGK-positive cases, 52/114 (45.6 %) of the archived human NPC specimens expressed high levels of AGK. High expression of AGK was associated with significantly shorter overall and disease-free survival (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002; log-rank test) and was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P = 0.041; multivariate Cox analysis). High AGK expression was associated with lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001; chi-squared test) and was an independent predicted factor for lymph node metastasis in NPC (P = 0.032; multivariate logistic analysis). AGK is overexpressed and associated with disease progression and lymph node metastasis in NPC. AGK has potential as a novel prognostic factor for overall survival in NPC.