Decreased expression of focal adhesion kinase is associated with a poor prognosis in extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma

Involvement of focal adhesion kinase in cellular proliferation, apoptosis and prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

“…10,19 On the other hand, Hayashi and colleagues found focal adhesion kinase expression to be downregulated in tumour specimens compared with normal controls. 11 In the present study, we found higher levels of focal adhesion kinase expression in laryngeal cancer specimens than in normal epithelial tissue, in agreement with previous laryngeal cancer studies. 12,14 Focal adhesion kinase expression may vary in different tumour types, and this may contribute to the phenotypic differences observed.…”

“…3 There is now growing evidence that analysis of focal adhesion kinase could play a vital role in predicting the progression and prognosis of many malignant neoplasms. [9][10][11] Interestingly, there is substantial controversy over the extent of focal adhesion kinase expression in tumour tissue versus normal controls. On the one hand, most studies had reported stronger focal adhesion kinase expression in tumour cells than in normal epithelial cells.…”

“…A semiquantitative scoring system was used to evaluate immunohistochemical staining for focal adhesion kinase, as described in a previous study. 11 For statistical purposes, tissue specimens were classified as positive or negative. In order to quantify cell nuclei staining (as detected by Ki-67 immunohistochemistry) and apoptosis (as detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labelling), a minimum of 1000 total neoplastic cells in the representative areas of each section were observed and counted on a D W LI, Y J SUN, Z F SUN et al…”

“…3 Accordingly, several clinical trials have explored its influence on the prognosis of various human malignancies, including gastric carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma. [9][10][11] Nevertheless, according to the recent literature, only a small number of in vivo studies have focused on the prognostic value of focal adhesion kinase in human samples of laryngeal cancer. [12][13][14] Moreover, the correlation between focal adhesion kinase expression and local lymph node metastasis in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma is still a controversial issue.…”

PTK2 (PTK2 protein tyrosine kinase 2)

“…FAK expression correlated significantly with tumor stage while Src expression correlated with both tumor stage and patient survival, and was identified as an independent prognostic factor by multivariate analysis . Hayashi et al (2010) demonstrated high levels of cytoplasmic FAK expression in normal biliary epithelium and observed a gradual loss of staining from dysplasia to extra-hepatic bile duct carcinoma. In this study, positive FAK staining was associated with a significantly better survival.…”