title: Change of SPARC expression after chemotherapy in gastric cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The expression of tumor biomarkers may change after chemotherapy. However, whether secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) expression changes after chemotherapy in gastric cancer (GC) is unclear. This study investigated the influence of chemotherapy on SPARC expression in GC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze SPARC expression in 132 GC cases (including 54 cases with preoperative chemotherapy and 78 cases without preoperative chemotherapy). SPARC expression of postoperative specimens with and without preoperative chemotherapy was assessed to analyze the influence of chemotherapy on SPARC expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SPARC was highly expressed in GC compared with the desmoplastic stroma surrounding tumor cells and noncancerous tissues. High SPARC expression was correlated with invasion depth, lymph node, and TNM stage. After chemotherapy, a lower proportion of high SPARC expression was observed in patients with preoperative chemotherapy than in the controls. For 54 patients with preoperative chemotherapy, gross type, histology, depth of invasion, lymph node, TNM stage, and SPARC expression were related to overall survival. Further multivariate analysis showed that lymph node, histology, and SPARC expression after chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SPARC expression may change after chemotherapy in GC. SPARC expression should be reassessed for patients with GC after chemotherapy.
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Yong-Yin
authors: YY
authors: Gao
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Ru-Bing
authors: RB
authors: Han
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Xia
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Shao-Hua
authors: SH
authors: Ge
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Hong-Li
authors: HL
authors: Li
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Ting
authors: T
authors: Deng
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Rui
authors: R
authors: Liu
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Ming
authors: M
authors: Bai
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Li-Kun
authors: LK
authors: Zhou
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Xin-Yuan
authors: XY
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Yi
authors: Y
authors: Ba
authors: Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors: Ding-Zhi
authors: DZ
authors: Huang
keywords: Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC); chemotherapy; gastric cancer (GC); immunohistochemistry