High expression of TACC3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma correlates with poor prognosis

Abstract

To analyze the expression of the transforming acidic coiled-coil protein 3 (TACC3) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) samples, and to identify whether TACC3 can serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of ESCC, qPCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry staining (IHC) were utilized to detect the expression of TACC3. Furthermore, cell growth, colony formation, migration ability and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers of ESCC cells in which TACC3 were knocked-down were measured. The mRNA and protein levels of TACC3 were higher in ESCC specimens compared to non-tumorous esophageal epithelial tissues. IHC results revealed TACC3 expression was significantly correlated to differentiation (p = 0.017) and lymphoid nodal status (p = 0.028). The patients with high-expression of TACC3 had a significantly poor prognosis compared to those of low-expression (p = 0.017), especially in the patients at stages I–II (p = 0.028). Multivariate analysis indicated that TACC3 expression was an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients (p = 0.025). Knockdown of TACC3 inhibited the ability of cell proliferation, colony formation and migration. This study first identifies TACC3 not only as a useful biomarker for diagnose and prognosis of ESCC, but also as a potential therapeutic target for patients with ESCC.

TACC3 promotes colorectal cancer tumourigenesis and correlates with poor prognosis

“…Cox multivariate analysis showed that increased TACC3 expression correlated with T classification and M classification and a shorter DFS and OS. These results suggest that CRC patients with high TACC3 expression tend to have a poorer prognosis, which is similar to previous reports on different cancers other than CRC [10, 12–16]. Thus, patients with a high level of TACC3 expression could be recommended to receive aggressive radiotherapy and chemotherapy to reduce tumour malignancy and metastasis.…”

“…TACC3 was also reported to act as a negative regulator of Notch signalling through binding to CDC10/Ankyrin repeats [5]. High TACC3 expression is correlated with ovarian cancer [10], glioblastoma [11], oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma [12], hepatocellular carcinoma [13, 14], gastric carcinoma [15] and non-small cell lung cancer [16]. The referenced studies have revealed that TACC3 mainly promotes tumour progression by enhancing cell proliferation, cancer stem cell populations and cancer cell migration [12, 14].…”

“…High TACC3 expression is correlated with ovarian cancer [10], glioblastoma [11], oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma [12], hepatocellular carcinoma [13, 14], gastric carcinoma [15] and non-small cell lung cancer [16]. The referenced studies have revealed that TACC3 mainly promotes tumour progression by enhancing cell proliferation, cancer stem cell populations and cancer cell migration [12, 14]. In several types of tumours, a common TACC3 fusion gene known as FGFR3-TAAC3 has been shown to promote the development of cancer cells by promoting cell proliferation [17–19].…”

Systematic Identification of Oncogenic EGFR Interaction Partners

“…Growing evidence suggests that TACC3 is found overexpressed in many human cancers, including ovarian cancer, breast cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, and lung cancer [17], [18], [25], [26]. Survival analysis using lung cancer patients ( n  = 1926) in KM Plotter shows significant association of high expression of TACC3 with poor survival (HR = 1.8; p -value < 1e − 16 ) [19].…”

Identification of FGFR3-TACC3 gene fusion in metastatic gastric cancer

“…More recently, FGFR fusion proteins have been increasingly detected in various human cancers, and transforming acid coiled coil 3 (TACC3) gene has been identified as an important partner of these FGFR fusions and was known to force dimerization and consequently activation of FGFR3 kinase activity in several solid tumors [7,8]. The contribution of such fusions to cancers of the upper digestive tract has remained largely unknown, but was detected in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, recently [9,10]. Here we report a case of metastatic GC harboring an activating FGFR3-TACC3 mutation for the first time.…”