title: Vimentin expression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its aggressive potential for lymph node metastasis.
abstract: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has been generally considered as one of the most aggressive cancers with poor prognosis. Vimentin is the major protein constituent of intermediate filaments in normal and neoplastic mesenchymal cells, and has been regarded as a marker of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, little is known about ESCC with vimentin expression as a marker of EMT. In this study, we analyzed vimentin expression in 129 cases of ESCC in order to elucidate whether vimentin expression is correlated with clinicopathological features and aggressive behavior of ESCC. Vimentin expression was identified in 96 of the 129 cases (74.4%). The cases with vimentin-positive carcinoma cells showed a significantly higher incidence of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001). Carcinomas with vimentin expression were more advanced in terms of tumor status and lymphatic invasion (P = 0.001, P = 0.009, respectively), and associated with stronger stromal alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) expression (P < 0.001). Vimentin expression was also associated with distant metastasis, including distant node metastasis (P = 0.014). Vimentin expression in both primary and metastatic carcinomas was found in 68.6% (48/70) of the cases, while no vimentin expression in both primary and metastatic carcinomas comprised 92.3% of the cases (12/13) (P < 0.001). In conclusion, we demonstrated that vimentin expression in ESCC is an independent predictor of lymph node metastasis (multivariate analysis, P = 0.014, odds ratio: 3.314, 95% confidence interval: 1.276-8.605). In addition, vimentin expression was frequently retained in metastatic carcinoma of the lymph node.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hirosaki University Graduates School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morohashi
authors.forename: Fuyuki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.forename: Harue
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akasaka
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsutsumi
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogasawara
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wajima
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hakamada
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kijima
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014746:Vimentin