Expression of heat shock protein 70 in grossly resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the present study was to use immunohistochemical methods to clarify the clinical implication of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and to investigate the function of HSP70 as a chaperone for p53.


METHODS
Seventy-one patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were admitted in the present study. Expression of HSP70 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and correlated with TNM classification, vessel invasion, p53 expression, and clinical outcome after operation.


RESULTS
Overexpression of HSP70 was related to sex (p < 0.05), tumor configuration (p < 0.05), lymph node metastasis (p < 0.01), and lymphatic vessel invasion (p < 0.05). Expression of p53 and HSP70 were not correlated with each other (p = 0.824). Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with HSP70 expression exhibited a significantly better prognosis compared with HSP70-negative esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in univariate analysis (p < 0.05), but no significance was found in multivariate analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that HSP70 expression might be of use to assess the progression, lymph node metastasis, and lymphatic vessel invasion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Inasmuch as both lymph node metastasis and HSP70 expression are prognostic variables in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, examination of HSP70 expression may be of use to assess clinical outcome after operation.
Department of Surgery II, Oita Medical University, Japan.
Tsuyoshi
T
Noguchi
Shinsuke
S
Takeno
Tomotaka
T
Shibata
Yuzo
Y
Uchida
Shigeo
S
Yokoyama
Wolfram
W
Müller
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53