The abnormal expression of MUC15, a novel cell membrane-associated mucin, has been reported to predict poor survival in several cancers. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression of MUC15 in glioma and its correlation with clinicopathological features, including the sur- vival of patients with glioma. The mRNA expression level of MUC15 was determined by RT-PCR, quantitative RT-PCR （RT-qPCR） and Western blotting in seven normal brain tissues and seven glioma tissues, respectively. The protein expression level of MUC15 was immunohistochemically detected in paraffin-embedded samples of 317 glioma tissues and 115 noncancerous brain tissues. The association of MUC 15 expression levels with the clinicopathologic features and the prognosis was analyzed. The results showed that both mRNA and protein levels of MUC 15 were significantly increased in glioma as com- pared with those in noncancerous brain tissue. Moreover, MUC15 overexpression was positively corre- lated with the advanced clinical stages of glioam patients （P〈0.01）. Furthermore, MUC15 expression levels were significantly correlated with the progression of glioma （P〈0.001）. Survival analysis indicated that glioma patients with higher MUC 15 expression had a significantly shorter overall and 5-year survival time than those with low MUC15 expression. Multivariate analysis suggested that MUC15 overexpres- sion was an independent factor for prognosis （hazard risk： 3.216; P=-0.009）. It was concluded that MUC 15 is overexpressed in glioma tissues. Its overexpression correlates with tumor progression and it is a po- tentially unfavorable prognostic factor for patients with glioma.
