Expression of truncated neurokinin-1 receptor in childhood neuroblastoma is independent of tumor biology and stage

Abstract

Background: Neuroblastoma is an embryonal malignancy arising from the aberrant growth of neural crest progenitor cells of the sympathetic nervous system. The tachykinin receptor 1 (TACR1) -substance P complex is associated with tumoral angiogenesis and cell proliferation in a variety of cancer types. Inhibition of TACR1 was recently described to impede growth of NB cell lines. However, the relevance of TACR1 in clinical settings is unknown. Patients and Methods: We investigated gene expression levels of full-length and truncated TACR1 in 59 neuroblastomas and correlated these data with the patients' clinical parameters such as outcome, metastasis, International Neuroblastoma Staging System (INSS) status, MYCN proto-oncogene, bHLH transcription factor (MYCN) status, gender and age. Results: Our results indicated that TACR1 is ubiquitously expressed in neuroblastoma but expression levels are independent of clinical parameters. Conclusion: Our data suggest that TACR1 might serve as a potent anticancer target in a large variety of patients with neuroblastoma, independent of tumor biology and clinical stage.