Intended Use
For In Vitro Diagnostic Use
Summary and Explanation
Trop-2 or Tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2, also known as epithelial glycoprotein-1 antigen (EGP-1), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TACSTD2 gene. This transmembrane glycoprotein functions in a variety of cell signaling pathways and was first elucidated as a transducer of an intracellular calcium signal. Trop-2 expression has been demonstrated to depend on a large variety of transcription factors. Trop-2 is involved in several cell signaling pathways, of which many are associated with tumorigenesis.
In Thyroid Cancer cell invasion, Trop-2 signal transduction has been seen as a downstream effect of the ERK and JNK pathways, where its signaling enhances stem cell-like properties of cancer cells, as Trop-2 regulates proliferation and self-renewal through X-catenin signaling. In a study, the majority of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (PTC) specimens were positive for Trop-2; however, the pattern of staining differed significantly between the histopathological variants. All Papillary microcarcinomas (mPTC), PTC classic variant (PTC cv), and tall cell variants (PTC tcv) were Trop-2 positive, with mainly diffuse staining. In contrast, less than half of the PTC follicular variant specimens were positive for Trop-2, with only focal immunoreactivity. Trop-2 may play a role in tumor progression given the involvement in several molecular pathways traditionally associated with cancer development. High Trop-2 expression correlates with poor prognosis in Pancreatic Carcinoma, Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma, Cervical Cancer, Gastric Cancer, and others. Increased Trop-2 expression has been associated with poor overall and disease-free survival outcomes across several solid tumors. Given Trop-2’s expression pattern and associated poor prognostic outcomes, Trop-2 is a rational prognostic marker and a possible therapeutic target.
Synonyms:trop-2, trop2, anti-trop-2, anti-trop2, egp-1, egp1, anti-egp-1, anti-egp1