title: Activin A expression in esophageal carcinoma and its association with tumor aggressiveness and differentiation.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of activin A in esophageal carcinoma and its association with tumor differentiation and metastasis. A total of 57 esophageal carcinoma patients and 36 controls were included in the current study. The mRNA and protein expression levels of activin A in esophageal tumors or normal esophageal tissues were determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis. In addition, the association of activin A expression with esophageal carcinoma differentiation, metastasis and recurrence postoperatively was analyzed. The mRNA and protein expression levels of activin A in esophageal carcinoma were significantly higher compared with those in normal esophageal tissues (P<0.05). The expression of activin A was higher in poorly-/moderately-differentiated esophageal tumor tissues compared with that of well-differentiated or control tissues (P<0.05). Furthermore, the expression of activin A in poorly-differentiated esophageal tumor tissues was higher compared with that of moderately-differentiated tissues (P<0.05). A positive correlation was also observed between differentiation degree and activin A expression. The expression of activin A was higher in patients with lymph node metastasis compared with those without metastasis (P<0.05). The cumulative survival rate of patients with a high expression of activin A at 1, 2 and 3 years postoperatively was significantly decreased compared with that of patients with a lower expression of activin A (P<0.05); by contrast, the cumulative recurrence rate was significantly higher in patients with a lower activin A expression (P<0.05). In conclusion, abnormal expression of activin A was detected in esophageal tumor tissues, which was correlated with the tumor differentiation, metastasis, survival and recurrence. In conclusion, activin A may be used as an auxiliary index in the diagnosis and prognosis of clinical esophageal carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang, Henan 453000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang, Henan 453000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ruifeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ruitai
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang, Henan 453000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liuqin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang, Henan 453000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
keywords: activin A; cell differentiation; esophageal carcinoma; tumor aggressiveness