Glial
tumors are the most frequent
neoplasms of the central nervous system in adults and despite recent advances in diagnosis and treatment of the disease, the prognosis of
glioma is poor. Therefore, there is a great need to identify new prognostic factors and potential immunotherapeutic targets. Members of the
Nectin family of
proteins are gaining significant attention as possible diagnostic and immunotherapeutic targets in many solid
tumors, but they have not been extensively investigated in glial
tumors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression of
Nectin-2 and Nectin-4 in glial
tumors of different grades, and to assess their prognostic value. The results showed heterogeneous expression of
Nectin-2 and Nectin-4 in
tumor cells and neuropil, with significantly higher
Nectin-2 expression compared to Nectin-4, but without differences among
tumor grades. In addition, the expression of
Nectin-2 and Nectin-4 was associated with shorter survival times in patients with grade II/III
gliomas. These results suggest that
Nectin-2 and Nectin-4 expression may be used as an independent prognostic
indicator for patients with II/III
gliomas. This study contributes to the development of personalized care for patients with
glioma and provides a basis for further research on
nectin-based
immunotherapy for
brain tumors.