title: Expression patterns of polo-like kinase 1 in human gastric cancer.
abstract: Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is centrally involved in the regulation of mitosis in normal and malignant cells. It is known that inhibition of PLK1 expression in vitro and in vivo leads to mitotic arrest, induction of apoptosis and suppression of tumor growth. In the present study, expression of PLK1 was investigated in paraffin tissue of 135 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma and in 46 corresponding lymph node metastases by immunohistochemistry. Expression data were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patient survival. Seventy-three (54.1%) of 135 carcinomas showed an overexpression of PLK1 compared to normal gastric mucosa. Overexpression of PLK1 correlated positively with tumor stage, nodal status and diffuse growth pattern. PLK1 expression in the primary tumor did not differ from PLK1 expression in the corresponding lymph node metastases. PLK1 expression was a significant prognostic factor in univariate but not in multivariate survival analysis. As a conclusion, upregulated PLK1 expression in gastric cancer correlates with a malignant tumor phenotype and has impact on patient prognosis. These data underscore the importance of PLK1 in gastric carcinogenesis and present a translational link for functional data into potential clinical use by defining PLK1 as an attractive protein for novel targeted chemotherapeutic approaches in gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Pathologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Schumannstrasse 20/21, 10117 Berlin, Germany. weichert@charite.de
authors.forename: Wilko
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weichert
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ullrich
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gekeler
authors.forename: Aurelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noske
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niesporek
authors.forename: Ann-Christin
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Buckendahl
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dietel
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Denkert
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000201:enzymology; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate; D000097869:Polo-Like Kinase 1
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D000097869:Polo-Like Kinase 1