title: High level of FOXC1 expression is associated with poor prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Accumulating evidence for overexpression of FOXC1 in various types of human cancer suggests that it plays a key role in tumor biology. However, little is known about the function of FOXC1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). This study was to investigate the expression profile of FOXC1 in PDA and its clinical significance. We detected the expression profile of FOXC1 mRNA and protein in PDA tissue and in corresponding normal tissue by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was also used in the detection of FOXC1 protein expression. The clinicopathological implications of these proteins were analyzed statistically. Survival analysis was performed to assess prognostic significance. FOXC1 mRNA was overexpressed in PDA tissue when compared with corresponding normal tissue, so was FOXC1 protein. The overexpression of FOXC1 was significantly associated with the degree of clinical stage (p < 0.001), histological differentiation (p = 0.002), and lymph node metastases (p < 0.001). Survival analysis revealed that overexpression of FOXC1 is associated with a poorer prognosis. These observations suggest that FOXC1 plays a key role in PDA and therefore may provide an opportunity for developing a novel therapeutic target as well as a prognostic marker in PDA.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, First People's Hospital of Changshu City, Changshu Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Changshu, 215500, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Chao-Ying
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Run-Jie
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jun-Ying
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010179:Pancreas / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C112743:FOXC1 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D012333:RNA, Messenger