title: Altered localization of p120 catenin in the cytoplasm rather than the membrane correlates with poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  P120 catenin (p120ctn), a regulator of cell adhesion, has previously been found in many malignancies, and suggested a role in invasion, metastasis and survival. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between altered localization of p120ctn and clinical-pathological characteristics in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemical staining for p120ctn was performed on tissue samples from 118 patients with ESCC. The expression of p120ctn was scored for intensity and cellular localization by Image-pro Plus 6.0. Correlations between immunohistochemical staining of p120ctn and pathological characteristics and clinical prognosis were determined using SPSS 18.0 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Membrane expression of p120ctn in ESCCs was lower than that in adjacentnormal esophageal epithelial tissues (P = 0.041), while overall cellular expression of p120ctn was not different between the two tissue types (P = 0.787). Furthermore, neither overall cellular expression nor localized membrane expression was associated with histological and clinical variables. The high ratio of membrane expression to overall cellular expression (M/C) of p120ctn was inversely associated with lymph node invasion (P = 0.001), tumor differentiation (P = 0.012) and advanced tumor stage (P = 0.005); however, it was poorly associated with T stage (P = 0.274). The high M/C ratio of p120ctn was inversely correlated with poor survival; the 5-year OS (overall survival) and the 5-year DFS (disease free survival) for the high M/C ratio group were significantly higher than those of the low M/C ratio group (41.0% vs. 6.7%, P = 0.000; 44.1% vs. 24.9%, P = 0.007). Both the M/C ratio of p120ctn and N status were independent variables for the prediction of overall survival (P = 0.007 and P = 0.027). The M/C of p120ctn predicted a 0.49-fold risk of ESCC death (p = 0.007, 95% CI 0.29-0.83).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reduced M/C ratio of p120ctn acted as an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patient survival and for the migration and invasive behavior of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Ningbo Medical Treatment Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Taizhou Enze Medical Center Luqiao Hospital, Taizhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemoradiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xuebang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemoradiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemoradiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qiancheng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemoradiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wenfeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemoradiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051177:Catenins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D004947:Esophagus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D021381:Protein Transport; D016019:Survival Analysis; D000095002:Delta Catenin
chemical_list: D051177:Catenins; D000095002:Delta Catenin; C000722347:CTNND1 protein, human