Expression of Cyclooxygenase-2 Is Associated with Carcinogenesis of the Lower Part of Thoracic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and p53 Expression

Abstract

Cyclooxygenase (COX) is a key enzyme in arachidonic acid metabolism. Two isoforms of this enzyme have been identified: constitutive COX-1 and inducible COX-2. Recently, expression of COX-2 has been found in several human carcinomas. COX-2 expression may contribute to the synthesis of prostanoids, which relate to carcinogenesis and tumor progression. We investigated the expression of COX-2 in 175 human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues using immunohistochemistry and evaluated the relationship with clinicopathological findings. In addition, due to the known relevance of p53 to carcinogesis, we evaluated the expression of COX-2 and p53. Interestingly, cancer tissues with high COX-2 expression were found significantly more often in the middle and lower esophagus than in the cervical and upper esophagus (p = 0.0014). No significant differences were observed in other clinicopathological data such as age, sex, histopathological grading, lymphatic invasion, venous invasion, TNM clinical classification and patient prognosis. p53 expression was associated with the expression of COX-2 (p = 0.0122). Our findings suggest that COX-2 may play a role in the development of squamous cell carcinoma in the lower part of the thoracic esophagus.

Meta‐analysis: clinicopathological and prognostic significance of cyclooxygenase‐2 expression on oesophageal squamous cell carinoma

“…A total of 19 studies [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] published from 2000 to 2008 met the criteria for this review. The total number of patients was 1608, ranging from 31 to 228 patients per study.…”

Oesophageal Cancer in Africa

“…Recent reports have shown that COX-II is overexpressed in many cancers including colon (47), breast (48), lung (49), and liver (50) and is also overexpressed in 74%-91% of oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas examined (51)(52)(53)(54)(55). COX-II expression is apparently dysregulated at an early stage in the progression of the disease, with COX-II staining indices 10-fold and 6-fold higher in high grade dysplasia (HGD) and advanced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) than normal oesophageal mucosa (53).…”

Expression of Cyclooxygenase-1 and Cyclooxygenase-2 in Human Esophageal Mucosa, Dysplasia and Carcinoma

“…Therefore, the epidemiological relationship between NSAIDs and the risk of esophageal cancer might be important. In previous studies, COX-2 expression has been reported in esophageal adenocarcinoma, SCC, and dysplasia [34][35][36][37][38]; the latter was noted in the neighborhood of carcinoma or was located separately [39], and is considered to be a precancerous lesion of esophageal SCC. However, the expression of COX-1 and COX-2 was not sufficiently evaluated in human esophageal normal mucosa, dysplasia, or SCC.…”