Tumor cell expression of podoplanin correlates with nodal metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Podoplanin is a mucin-like glycoprotein expressed in the lymphatic endothelium. It has been suggested to play a role in lymphangiogenesis, since podoplanin deficient mice were found to have dilated malfunctioning lymphatic vessels and lymphedema. High podoplanin expression in tumor cells was found to correlate with lymph node metastasis and poor clinical outcome in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, the prognostic significance of podoplanin expression in esophageal SCC remains unexplored. Herein, we studied podoplanin expression in 59 patients who underwent surgical resection of esophageal SCC, with 43 of them preceded by preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). We found that high podoplanin expression strongly correlated with clinical nodal metastasis (cN1; p=0.0063), which was associated with short survival (p=0.012). However, there was no direct association between high podoplanin expression and short survival. We also found that lymphatic vessel invasion in the resected esophagus was strongly associated with pathological nodal metastasis (pN1; p=0.00092). Our results suggest that podoplanin could also play a role in tumor aggressiveness in esophageal SCC, as well as in oral SCC.
Chuang
Wen-Yu
WY
Department of Pathology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linko, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Yeh
Chi-Ju
CJ
Wu
Yi-Chin
YC
Chao
Yin-Kai
YK
Liu
Yun-Hen
YH
Tseng
Chen-Kan
CK
Chang
Hsien-Kun
HK
Liu
Hui-Ping
HP
Hsueh
Chuen
C
D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D000098853:Podoplanin
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C117468:PDPN protein, human; D000098853:Podoplanin