title: High expression of DEK predicts poor prognosis of gastric adenocarcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  DEK, as an oncoprotein, plays an important role in cancer development and progression. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of DEK overexpression in patients with gastric cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The expression of DEK protein was evaluated by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of 172 gastric cancer samples with complete clinicopathological features, and the correlation between DEK expression and clinicopathological features was examined. Survival rates were also calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method in gastric cancer patients with complete survival data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  DEK protein showed a strictly nuclear staining pattern in gastric cancers with IHC and immunofluorescence. The strongly positive rate of DEK protein was 60.5% (104/172) in gastric cancers, which was significantly higher than that in either gastric dysplasia (19.4%, 7/36) or adjacent normal mucosa (0%, 0/27). DEK expression in gastric cancer correlated to tumor size, differentiation, clinical stage, disease-free survival, and overall survival rates. Further analysis showed that patients with early-stage gastric cancer and high DEK expression had shorter disease-free survival and overall survival duration than those with low DEK expression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High level of DEK protein expression predicts the poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. DEK expression might be potentially used as an independent effective biomarker for prognostic evaluation of gastric cancers.
  The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/5050145571193097.
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Shuangping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yingshi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.forename: Xuelian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yanbian University Medical College, No, 977, Gongyuan-Rd, Yanji 133002, China. liyuzi9258@163.com.
authors.forename: Yuzi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000075223:Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; C084738:DEK protein, human; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D000075223:Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins