Association of Kruppel-like factor 4 expression with the prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association of Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) expressions with the prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients.


METHODS
Ninety-eight cases of esophageal carcinoma patients were enrolled. The expression of KLF4 in the esophageal SCC and normal esophageal mucosa tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry. The correlations between the expression of KLF4 protein and patients' clinical characteristics and prognosis were analyzed.


RESULTS
We observed higher expressed KLF4 in normal esophageal mucosa tissues than esophageal SCC tissues, with positive rate of 82.7% (81/98) and 43.8% (43/98) respectively. In patients with lymphatic metastasis, the positive rate of KLF4 was 24.4% (10/41), whereas it was 57.9% (33/57) in patients without lymphatic metastasis, and the difference was significant (x(2) = 10.871, P = 0.001). The positive rates of KLF4 were 62.5% (5/8), 53.1% (26/49) and 29.3% (12/41) in stage I, II and III patients, respectively. There were no correlations between the expression of KLF4 and gender, age, tumor size, location, differentiation grade and infiltration depth. The 5-year survival rates and median survival times were 48.8% and 25.5%, and 55 and 26 months for the patients with KLF4 positive and negative expression, respectively. There were significant differences between the patients with KLF4 positive expression and negative expression in the 5-year survival rates and median survival times (x(2) = 5.747 and 4.493, P = 0.017 and 0.034).


CONCLUSIONS
KLF4 might act as a tumor suppressor in esophageal SCC and the expression status of KLF4 could be considered as a prognosis predictor for esophageal SCC patients.
Department of Esophageal Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer Tianjin 300060, China ; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Tianjin 300060, China.
Ming-Quan
MQ
Ma
Department of Esophageal Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer Tianjin 300060, China ; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Tianjin 300060, China.
Hong-Dian
HD
Zhang
Department of Esophageal Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer Tianjin 300060, China ; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Tianjin 300060, China.
Peng
P
Tang
Department of Esophageal Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer Tianjin 300060, China ; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Tianjin 300060, China.
Hong-Jing
HJ
Jiang
Department of Esophageal Tumor, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer Tianjin 300060, China ; Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy Tianjin 300060, China.
Chuan-Gui
CG
Chen
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000032:analysis*
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C000715467:KLF4 protein, human; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Kruppel-like factor 4; prognosis