Poster Presentation 35th Lorne Cancer Conference 2023

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 as a marker for aggressive squamous cell carcinoma (#372)

Jasmine M Zhou 1 , Kathryn Chen 2 , Kang Liang 3 , Kieran Scott 4 , Zauner Roland 5 , Verena Wally 5 , Albert Mellick 4
  1. Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Chemical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  4. Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  5. EB House, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) is a cell surface proteoglycan that is currently under investigation as a marker of cancer malignancy and as a potential target of anticancer drug treatment. CSPG4 acts as a driver of tumourigenesis by regulating the turnover of the extracellular matrix (ECM) to promote tumour cell invasion, migration as well as inflammation and angiogenesis. While CSPG4 has been widely studied in certain malignancies, such as melanoma, evidence is emerging from global gene expression studies, which suggests a role for CSPG4 in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). While relatively treatable, the lack of widely agreed-upon diagnostic markers for SCCs is problematic, especially for clinicians managing certain patients, including those who are aged or infirm, as well as those with underlying conditions such as epidermolysis bullosa (EB), for which a delayed diagnosis is likely lethal. In our work, we have quantitatively analysed CSPG4 expression in the tissues and pathologies where it has been identified to determine the usefulness of CSPG4 expression as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in the management of malignant SCC.