Citations
Citations
Citations
Citations
Citations
Citations
Citations
Citations
Citations
Citations
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with tumor hypoxia. EMT is regulated, in part, by the action of TWIST, which inhibits of E-cadherin expression and may interfere with the p53 tumor-suppressor pathway.
We examined the expression of TWIST, E-cadherin, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α), and p53 by immunohistochemistry in 123 cases of ovarian epithelial cancers (OEC) to evaluate the role of TWIST in OEC. We assessed the association between protein expression and clinicopathologic parameters.
The expression of TWIST, E-cadherin, HIF1α, and p53 proteins was found in 28.5%, 51.2%, 35.0%, and 29.3% of cases, respectively. TWIST expression was associated with higher histologic grade and unfavorable survival. TWIST expression was correlated with HIF1α expression and reduced E-cadherin expression. The altered HIF1α/TWIST/E-cadherin pathway was associated with lower overall survival (OS), while the co-expression of TWIST and p53 was correlated with lower progression-free survival. In the multivariate analyses, TWIST expression was an independent prognostic factor for OS.
Our data imply that TWIST expression could be a useful predictor of unfavorable prognosis for OEC. TWIST may affect the p53 tumor-suppressor pathway. Moreover, hypoxia-mediated EMT, which involves the HIF1α/TWIST/E-cadherin pathway may play an important role in the progression of OEC.
Citations
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important step in the invasion and progression of cancer and in the development of chemoresistance by cancer cells.
To address the clinical significance of the EMT pathway in lung adenocarcinoma and the association of the pathway with histological subtype, we examined 193 surgically resected lung adenocarcinoma samples for the expression of representative EMT-related proteins (E-cadherin, β-catenin, and vimentin) by immunohistochemistry. Histological subtypes were classified according to the 2011 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society classification. The results for EMT-related protein expression were analyzed for correlation with clinicopathological features and with survival.
The loss of E-cadherin expression and aberrant β-catenin expression were significantly associated with larger tumor size, pleural invasion, lymphatic/vascular invasion, and advanced pathological stage (p<0.05). The alteration of the E-cadherin/β-catenin complex was least frequently observed in the lepidic-predominant group, but these associations were not statistically significant. In the multivariate analysis, altered E-cadherin/β-catenin complex expression was found to be an independent poor prognostic factor (p=0.017; hazard ratio, 1.926; 95% confidence interval, 1.119 to 3.314).
The alteration of the expression of the E-cadherin/β-catenin complex was associated with aggressive tumor behavior in lung adenocarcinoma.
Citations
Tumor hypoxia is associated with malignant progression and treatment resistance. Hypoxia-related factors, such as carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX), glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) permit tumor cell adaptation to hypoxia. We attempted to elucidate the correlation of these markers with variable clinicopathological factors and overall prognosis.
Immunohistochemistry for CA IX, GLUT-1, and VEGF was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from 125 cases of ovarian epithelial cancer (OEC).
CA IX expression was significantly associated with an endometrioid and mucinous histology, nuclear grade, tumor necrosis, and mitosis. GLUT-1 expression was associated with tumor necrosis and mitosis. VEGF expression was correlated only with disease recurrence. Expression of each marker was not significant in terms of overall survival in OECs; however, there was a significant correlation between poor overall survival rate and high coexpression of these markers.
The present study suggests that it is questionable whether CA IX, GLUT-1, or VEGF can be used alone as independent prognostic factors in OECs. Using at least two markers helps to predict patient outcomes in total OECs. Moreover, the inhibition of two target gene combinations might prove to be a novel anticancer therapy.
Citations