title: Stromal-epithelial metabolic coupling in gastric cancer: stromal MCT4 and mitochondrial TOMM20 as poor prognostic factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore metabolic symbiosis in gastric cancer and its relationship with cancer prognosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was used to detect MCT4 and TOMM20 expression in 113 gastric cancer patient specimens. The correlations of MCT4 and TOMM20 expression with gastric cancer clinicopathological features and survival were studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Stromal MCT4 expression was closely associated with the pathological (p) TNM stage and TOMM20 expression. We also assessed the predictive value of epithelial MCT4 expression. However, no correlation with patient clinical outcome was evident. TOMM20 expression was closely associated with tumor size and stromal MCT4 expression. Further, stromal MCT4 and mitochondrial TOMM20 were positively correlated, and Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that high stromal MCT4 expression and high mitochondrial TOMM20 expression were associated with reduced overall survival and disease-free survival. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that stromal MCT4 expression and mitochondrial TOMM20 expression were independent prognostic factors in gastric cancer patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings directly support the existence of metabolic symbiosis in gastric cancer. Stromal MCT4 and mitochondrial TOMM20 could be promising biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. These proteins might also serve as novel therapeutic targets in gastric cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address: hanfanghai2012@163.com.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D000090622:Mitochondrial Precursor Protein Import Complex Proteins; D027501:Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters / Q000378:metabolism*; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011379:Prognosis; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013270:Stomach / Q000473:pathology; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D017154:Stromal Cells; D047368:Tumor Burden
chemical_list: D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D000090622:Mitochondrial Precursor Protein Import Complex Proteins; D027501:Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C406962:SLC16A4 protein, human; C084008:TOMM20 protein, human
keywords: Gastric cancer; MCT4; Metabolic symbiosis; Prognosis; TOMM20