Expression of podoplanin and vimentin is correlated with prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Podoplanin is a small membrane mucin, which is involved in cell migration and cancer cell invasion. However, the roles of podoplanin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are poorly understood. In the present study, 139 cases of surgically resected ESCC were analyzed and the clinicopathological significance of podoplanin membrane expression in ESCC was demonstrated. Podoplanin expression was positive in 66.2% (92/139) of ESCC samples; with weak expression in 32.4% (45/139), and strong expression in 33.8% (47/139). Membrane expression of podoplanin was significantly associated with tumor status (P=0.001), venous invasion (P=0.035) and Union for International Cancer Control stage (P=0.029). Patients who exhibited strong podoplanin expression, were shown to have a poorer prognosis [hazard ratio (HR), 3.949; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.001–7.794]. Expression of vimentin, a mesenchymal marker, was detected in 49 cases (35.3%) and was associated with venous invasion (P=0.020). Vimentin-positive cases were also more likely to have a worse prognosis than vimentin-negative cases (HR, 2.161; 95% CI, 1.300–3.592). Podoplanin membrane expression was significantly correlated with vimentin cytoplasmic expression in ESCC (P<0.001). The present study confirmed that podo-planin and vimentin are independent predictors of mortality (HR, 3.084; 95% CI, 1.543–6.164). These results suggest that podoplanin membrane expression results in epithelial-mesenchymal transition and promotes aggressive invasion in human ESCC.

Wnt3a expression is associated with poor prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

“…According to progression of cancer, cancer cells seems to acquire the ability of invasion and metastasis by EMT (24). Several studies already suggested that Wnt signaling pathway closely related to EMT (25,26), and EMT related factors would be prognostic factors of ESCC (27,28). These studies support the hypothesis that the canonical Wnt signaling pathway activates the progression and metastasis of ESCC through the EMT; whether Wnt3a expression might also be correlated with the progression and metastasis of ESCC should be investigated.…”

Phosphorylation of ETS‐1 is a critical event in DNA polymerase iota‐induced invasion and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

“…Despite the improvement in treatment throughout the past decades, the prognosis of ESCC patients remains poor, with a 5‐year survival rate of approximately 20–30% . The high mortality rate is largely attributed to aggressive invasion and metastasis of ESCC cells . Hence, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms relating to cancer invasion and metastasis is critical for improving the prognosis of patients with ESCC.…”

<b>Podoplanin expression is correlated with the prognosis of lung squamous cell car</b><b>cinoma </b>

“…Strong podoplanin expression was significantly correlated with peripheral type (P < 0.001), with a correlation coefficient of 0.678. Recently, podoplanin has been considered as one of the candidate markers of cancer stem cells, associated with cancer cell invasion or migration, as well as the prognosis of several cancers (12,24,28,29,33). Several studies have clarified that podoplanin expression promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in morphogenetic processes.…”

“…Immunoreactivity was detected using the avidin-biotin method (Vectastain Elite ABC kit; Vector Laboratories, Inc., Burlingame, CA). We evaluated the existence of specific immunostaining prior to the immunohistochemical staining in this study (29).…”