Prognostic and predictive role of YKL-40 in anal squamous cell carcinoma: a serological and tissue-based analysis in a multicentric cohort.

Anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASC) is a rare gastrointestinal malignancy showing an increased incidence over the past decades. YKL-40 is an immune modulator and pro-angiogenetic factor that showed a promising prognostic and predictive potential in several malignancies, but limited data are available for ASC. This study aims to provide an extensive evaluation of the prognostic and predictive role of YKL-40 in a multicenter cohort of ASC patients. We retrospectively retrieved 72 consecutive cases of ASC diagnosed between February 2011 and March 2021. Both serum and tissue protein expression of YKL-40 were assessed, the latter in ASC tumor cells and peritumor immune cells. Increased YKL-40 serum levels at the time of diagnosis were associated with older age ( In conclusion, YKL-40 resulted a relevant prognostic (serum level) and predictive (tissue protein expression in peritumor immune cells) biomarker and can considerably improve ASC patient clinical management.

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Copyright © 2024 Gambella, Senetta, Falco, Ricci, Mangherini, Tampieri, Fissore, Orlando, Manetta, Mengozzi, Mistrangelo, Bertero and Cassoni.

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The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.