Recent studies have demonstrated that the
chemokine CCL20 and its receptor CCR6 may be involved in
tumorigenesis,
tumor progression and metastatic spread of various human
malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of CCL20 and CCR6 expression in human
malignant glioma. CCL20 and CCR6 expression in human
gliomas and nonneoplastic brain tissues was measured by immunohistochemistry. The association of CCL20 and CCR6 expression with clinicopathological factors or prognosis in
glioma patients was statistically analyzed. The expression levels of CCL20 and CCR6
proteins were both up-regulated in
glioma tissues. There was a significantly positive correlation between the expression of the two markers (r = 0.88; P < 0.001). In addition, the overexpressions of CCL20 and CCR6 were both detected in high-grade
glioma tissues compared with those in low-grade tissues and increased with ascending
tumor World Health Organization (WHO) grades (P = 0.006 and 0.008, respectively). The increased expressions of CCL20 and CCR6
proteins were also significantly correlated with low Karnofsky performance score (both P = 0.01). Moreover, univariate analysis found that CCL20 expression (P = 0.002), CCR6 expression (P = 0.002) and CCL20/CCR6 co-expression (P < 0.001) were all significantly associated with poor prognosis. In particular,
glioma patients with CCL20/CCR6 co-expression have the shortest overall survival. Multivariate analysis further identified the expression levels of CCL20 and CCR6 to be independent prognostic factors. Our data suggest for the first time that CCL20 and CCR6 might play an important role in the regulation of aggressiveness in human
gliomas. The up-regulation of CCL20 and CCR6 might be closely associated with poor clinical outcome of patients with
gliomas.