Significance of immunohistochemical expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.
BACKGROUND
The focus of studies on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) have been on its ability to mediate the biological behavior of human tumors including tumorigenesis, tumor progression, apoptosis, and differentiation. The aim of the current study was to elucidate a further finding on the clinicopathologic significance of immunohistochemical expression of COX-2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).


METHODS
The immunohistochemical expression of COX-2 was examined for 76 specimens of ESCC and the correlation of COX-2 expression with clinicopathologic features was examined.


RESULTS
Twenty-eight ESCCs (36.8%) had a strong expression of COX-2. The proportion of poorly differentiated SCCs among tumors with a strong expression of COX-2 (42.8%, 12 of 28) was significantly higher than that among tumors with a weak expression of COX-2 (16.7%, 8 of 48; P = .037). The depth of the tumors (P = .003) and the stage of the tumors (P = .015) were advanced significantly more progressively in ESCCs with a strong COX-2 expression. Univariate analysis showed that the prognosis of patients with ESCCs with a strong COX-2 expression was significantly poorer than that of patients with ESCCs with a weak COX-2 expression (P = .017). Multivariate analysis showed that only such tumor-related factors as lymphatic invasion (P = .004), venous invasion (P = .003), and stage of the tumors (P = .021) were found to be associated independently with worse prognosis of the patients with ESCC.


CONCLUSIONS
Strong expression of COX-2 is correlated with tumor progression and poor differentiation in ESCC.
Nozoe
Tadahiro
T
Department of Surgery, Fukuoka Higashi Medical Center, 1-1-1 Chidori, Koga 811-3195, Japan. nozoet@fukuokae2.hosp.go.jp
Ezaki
Takahiro
T
Kabashima
Akira
A
Baba
Hideo
H
Maehara
Yoshihiko
Y
D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000378:metabolism*
D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases