title: Clinical significance of stanniocalcin-1 detected in peripheral blood and bone marrow of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stanniocalcin-1 (STC-1) is a potential marker of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs). The aim of this study was to examine STC-1 expression in peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients, and to evaluate its clinical significance.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 85 ESCC patients treated with radical resection were enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect STC-1 protein expression in ESCC tissues. Nested RT-PCR was used to detect STC-1 mRNA expression in PB and BM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 71 cases (83.5%) showed a higher level of STC-1 protein expression in tumor tissues than in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the frequencies of STC-1 mRNA expression detected in PB and BM were 37.6% (32/85) and 21.2% (18/85), respectively, and together increased sensitivity to 48.2% (41/85), which was much higher than that in patients with benign esophageal disease (5.0%, 2/40, P < 0.001). In addition, STC-1 mRNA expression either in PB or BM was correlated with lymph metastasis, advanced stage and adverse 2-year progression free survival (PFS). In a multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazard model, STC-1 expression in PB and/or BM was an independent unfavorable prognostic factor for ESCC, apart from lymph metastasis and clinical stage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  STC-1 mRNA expression is a reliable marker for detection of DTCs in PB and BM of ESCC patients, and STC-1-positive DTCs may be a promising tool for diagnosis and prognosis assessment in ESCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Jinling Hospital, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, PR China.
authors.forename: Haizhu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006023:Glycoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C051795:teleocalcin