Prognostic relevance of β-catenin expression in T2-3N0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To study the expression of β-catenin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) at stage T2-3N0M0 and its relation with the prognosis of ESCC patients.


METHODS
Expression of β-catenin in 227 ESCC specimens was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). A reproducible semi-quantitative method which takes both staining percentage and intensity into account was applied in IHC scoring, and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to select the cut-off score for high or low IHC reactivity. Then, correlation of β-catenin expression with clinicopathological features and prognosis of ESCC patients was determined.


RESULTS
No significant correlation was observed between β-catenin expression and clinicopathological parameters in terms of gender, age, tumor size, tumor grade, tumor location, depth of invasion and pathological stage. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the up-regulated expression of β-catenin indicated a poorer post-operative survival rate of ESCC patients at stage T2-3N0M0 (P = 0.004), especially of those with T3 lesions (P = 0.014) or with stage IIB diseases (P = 0.007). Multivariate analysis also confirmed that β-catenin was an independent prognostic factor for the overall survival rate of ESCC patients at stage T2-3N0M0 (relative risk = 1.642, 95% CI: 1.159-2.327, P = 0.005).


CONCLUSIONS
Elevated β-catenin expression level may be an adverse indicator for the prognosis of ESCC patients at stage T2-3N0M0, especially for those with T3 lesions or stage IIB diseases.
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, Guangdong Province, China.
Dong-Rong
DR
Situ
Yi
Y
Hu
Zhi-Hua
ZH
Zhu
Jian
J
Wang
Hao
H
Long
Tie-Hua
TH
Rong
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
D051176:beta Catenin