Cyclooxygenase-2 overexpression associated with a poor prognosis in chondrosarcomas.
Recent studies have shown increased levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in various human malignancies, including some bone and soft tissue tumors, but little is known about the presence of COX-2 in chondrosarcomas. We performed immunohistochemical staining for COX-2 in 74 chondrosarcomas and compared the staining results with the characteristics and outcome of the patients. Thirty-seven men and 37 women between the ages of 14 and 81 years (median, 50 years) participated in the study. The tumors were located in the axial skeleton in 47 cases and in the long bones in 27 cases. The largest diameters of the tumors ranged from 2.7 to 32 cm (median, 8.0 cm). The immunohistochemistry findings revealed the overexpression of COX-2 in 16 (22%) of the 74 patients. Thirteen (41%) of 32 grade 2 and 2 (67%) of 3 grade 3 chondrosarcomas showed overexpression for COX-2, whereas only 1 (3%) of 39 grade 1 chondrosarcomas showed overexpression. Overexpression of COX-2 was significantly associated with histologic grade (P < .001) and a decreased disease-specific survival (P < .001). These findings suggest that COX-2 overexpression in chondrosarcoma is a negative prognostic factor that may be strongly associated with histologic grade.
Division of Orthopaedic Oncology, National Cancer Centre Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Makoto
M
Endo
Tadaki
T
Matsumura
Takehiko
T
Yamaguchi
Umio
U
Yamaguchi
Yuki
Y
Morimoto
Fumihiko
F
Nakatani
Akira
A
Kawai
Hirokazu
H
Chuman
Yasuo
Y
Beppu
Tadakazu
T
Shimoda
Tadashi
T
Hasegawa
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000378:metabolism*
D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases