Syndecan-4 as a biomarker to predict clinical outcome for glioblastoma multiforme treated with WT1 peptide vaccine

AIM: In cancer immunotherapy, biomarkers are important for identification of responsive patients. This study was aimed to find biomarkers that predict clinical outcome of WT1 peptide vaccination. MATERIALS & METHODS: Candidate genes that were expressed differentially between long- and short-term survivors were identified by cDNA microarray analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells that were extracted from 30 glioblastoma patients (discovery set) prior to vaccination and validated by quantitative RT-PCR using discovery set and different 23 patients (validation set). RESULTS: SDC-4 mRNA expression levels distinguished between the long- and short-term survivors: 1-year survival rates were 64.0 and 18.5% in SDC4-low and -high patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: SDC-4 is a novel predictive biomarker for the efficacy of WT1 peptide vaccine.