title: Over-expression of beclin-1 in gallbladder carcinoma and its relationship with prognosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We determined the expression of beclin-1 in gallbladder carcinoma, analyzed the association of beclin-1 expression with clinicopathologic parameters and prognosis, and investigated the relationship between microvessel density and beclin-1 expression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tissue microarray blocks containing 118 primary gallbladder tumor sites were used. Clinical parameters and prognostic data were collected. Expression of beclin-1 in these specimens was analyzed by immunohistochemical studies and confirmed by Western blotting. Microvessel density was counted using immunohistochemical staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall rate of over-expression of beclin-1 was 68.1% (80 of 118). Over-expression of beclin-1 was significantly associated with TNM stage and liver metastasis. Over-expression of beclin-1 has no significant relationship with age, sex, lymphatic metastasis, or tumor differentiation. Based on the Kaplan-Meier method, over-expression of beclin-1 showed no significant difference for the overall survival rate in patients with gallbladder cancer. The multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that beclin-1 was not an independent prognostic factor for gallbladder cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Beclin-1 might play roles in the development of gallbladder cancer. However, beclin-1 may not be an effective prognostic factor for gallbladder cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affilliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, PR China ; Both authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Yigang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affilliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, PR China ; Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China ; Both authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affilliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaohu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affilliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, PR China ; Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zheng
keywords: angiogenesis; autophagy; beclin-1; gallbladder cancer