Expression of nestin in cancer: a tissue microarray study involving 13,318 cancers from 148 tumor entities.
5 affiliations
- 1Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
- 2General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery Department and Clinic, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
- 3Institute of Pathology, Clinical Center Osnabrueck, Osnabrueck, Germany.
- 4Department of Pathology, Academic Hospital Fuerth, Fuerth, Germany.
- 5Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Nestin (neuroepithelial stem cell protein) is a class VI intermediate filament protein which is transiently expressed in subsets of precursor cells of various tissues during development. Nestin expression can be reinduced in the adult during pathological situations.Methods
To better comprehend the prevalence of nestin in different cancer types, nestin was analyzed by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays (TMAs) containing 17,285 samples from 148 different tumor types. Our antibody was validated using a second independent antibody on 76 different normal tissues, ensuring a broad range of proteins to be tested for cross-reactivity.Results
Of 13,318 analyzable tumors, nestin staining was absent in 11,677 (87.7%), weak in 961 (7.2%), moderate in 360 (2.7%), and strong in 320 (2.4%) cases. Of 148 tumor categories, 119 showed nestin staining in at least one case, and 57 included at least one sample with strong positivity. Nestin positivity was most seen in tumors of the salivary glands (up to 100%), gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) (93.8%), tumors of the peripheral nerves (up to 93.8%) and malignant melanomas (81.8%). High nestin expression was linked to high grade (p < 0.0001), estrogen (p = 0.0054), and progesterone receptor negativity (p = 0.0051), as well as a triple negative phenotype (p = 0.0028) in invasive breast cancer NST, in papillary as well as poor ISUP (p=0.0149), Fuhrman (p=0.0006) and Thoenes grades (p=0.0099) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, invasive tumor growth in urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder (pTa vs. pT2-4; p < 0.0001), and advanced pT stage (p = 0.0477) in serous carcinoma of the ovary.Conclusions
The data from this study provide an overview of nestin expression in human cancer and demonstrate that increased nestin levels can occur in many different tumor entities. Significant associations with unfavorable tumor characteristics in multiple entities argue for a role of nestin in driving cancer aggressiveness, which may further support the concept of exploring nestin as a drug target.
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BibTeX
@article{schraps2026expression,
title = {{Expression of nestin in cancer: a tissue microarray study involving 13,318 cancers from 148 tumor entities.}},
author = {Nina Schraps and Muriel Torzewski and Clara von Bargen and Fiete Gehrisch and Anne Menz and Florian Lutz and Viktoria Chirico and Florian Viehweger and David Dum and Ria Schlichter and Andrea Hinsch and Christoph Fraune and Christian Bernreuther and Seyma Büyücek and Martina Kluth and Claudia Hube-Magg and Georgia Makrypidi-Fraune and Katharina Möller and Andreas M Luebke and Patrick Lebok and Guido Sauter and Maximilian Lennartz and Till Clauditz and Andreas H Marx and Thilo Hackert and Ronald Simon and Eike Burandt and Natalia Gorbokon and Maria Christina Tsourlakis and Sarah Minner and Till Krech and Morton Freytag and Viktor Reiswich and Stefan Steurer},
journal = {BMC cancer},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1186/s12885-026-17190-w},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972270},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Expression of nestin in cancer: a tissue microarray study involving 13,318 cancers from 148 tumor entities.
AU - Nina Schraps
AU - Muriel Torzewski
AU - Clara von Bargen
AU - Fiete Gehrisch
AU - Anne Menz
AU - Florian Lutz
AU - Viktoria Chirico
AU - Florian Viehweger
AU - David Dum
AU - Ria Schlichter
AU - Andrea Hinsch
AU - Christoph Fraune
AU - Christian Bernreuther
AU - Seyma Büyücek
AU - Martina Kluth
AU - Claudia Hube-Magg
AU - Georgia Makrypidi-Fraune
AU - Katharina Möller
AU - Andreas M Luebke
AU - Patrick Lebok
AU - Guido Sauter
AU - Maximilian Lennartz
AU - Till Clauditz
AU - Andreas H Marx
AU - Thilo Hackert
AU - Ronald Simon
AU - Eike Burandt
AU - Natalia Gorbokon
AU - Maria Christina Tsourlakis
AU - Sarah Minner
AU - Till Krech
AU - Morton Freytag
AU - Viktor Reiswich
AU - Stefan Steurer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/02
JO - BMC cancer
DO - 10.1186/s12885-026-17190-w
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972270
AB - Background Nestin (neuroepithelial stem cell protein) is a class VI intermediate filament protein which is transiently expressed in subsets of precursor cells of various tissues during development. Nestin expression can be reinduced in the adult during pathological situations.Methods To better comprehend the prevalence of nestin in different cancer types, nestin was analyzed by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays (TMAs) containing 17,285 samples from 148 different tumor types. Our antibody was validated using a second independent antibody on 76 different normal tissues, ensuring a broad range of proteins to be tested for cross-reactivity.Results Of 13,318 analyzable tumors, nestin staining was absent in 11,677 (87.7%), weak in 961 (7.2%), moderate in 360 (2.7%), and strong in 320 (2.4%) cases. Of 148 tumor categories, 119 showed nestin staining in at least one case, and 57 included at least one sample with strong positivity. Nestin positivity was most seen in tumors of the salivary glands (up to 100%), gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) (93.8%), tumors of the peripheral nerves (up to 93.8%) and malignant melanomas (81.8%). High nestin expression was linked to high grade (p < 0.0001), estrogen (p = 0.0054), and progesterone receptor negativity (p = 0.0051), as well as a triple negative phenotype (p = 0.0028) in invasive breast cancer NST, in papillary as well as poor ISUP (p=0.0149), Fuhrman (p=0.0006) and Thoenes grades (p=0.0099) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, invasive tumor growth in urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder (pTa vs. pT2-4; p < 0.0001), and advanced pT stage (p = 0.0477) in serous carcinoma of the ovary.Conclusions The data from this study provide an overview of nestin expression in human cancer and demonstrate that increased nestin levels can occur in many different tumor entities. Significant associations with unfavorable tumor characteristics in multiple entities argue for a role of nestin in driving cancer aggressiveness, which may further support the concept of exploring nestin as a drug target.
SN - 1471-2407
ER -