High expression of CRAM correlates with poor prognosis in patients with cervical carcinoma

Aims: Atypical chemokine receptors (ACRs) have been reported to scavenge or alter the localization of their chemokine ligands. However, CRAM, a newly identified ACR member, is lack of ligand scavenging properties. The present study was to investigate the clinical significance of CRAM in cervical carcinoma. Methods: The expression of CRAM in primary cervical cancer and paired normal tissues from adjacent regions was examined using Real time PCR. Moreover, CRAM protein expression was analyzed in 272 cervical specimens including 50 normal cervical tissues, 40 cases of carcinoma in situ of cervix (CIS), and 182 cases of cervical cancer by immunohistochemistry. Results: Real time PCR showed that the expression level of CRAM was markedly higher in cervical cancer than that in normal cervical tissues. The expression rate of CRAM in normal cervical tissues, CIS, and cervical cancer increased gradually (p < 0.01). In addition, the expression level of CCL19 was positively associated with that of CRAM (p < 0.05). Moreover, high expression level of CRAM was correlated with lymph node metastasis and histological subtype. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, high expression level of CRAM was a negative indicator for both overall (p = 0.028) and recurrence-free survival (p = 0.010). Conclusion: The present study suggested that CRAM could be a clinical prognostic marker for patients with cervical cancer and might be a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer. Our data extended previous research on the predictive value of ACRs.