Expression of E-cadherin, cyclin D1, matrix metalloproteinase 9, and vascular endothelial growth factor in primary tumor of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma does not predict lymph node micrometastasis

• Published in: Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society Vol. 2; no. 2; pp. 71 - 75
• Main Authors: Nagatani, Shiro, Shimada, Yutaka, Sato, Fumiaki, Watanabe, Go, Maeda, Masato, Kaganoi, Junichi, Imamura, Masayuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer Nature B.V 01.06.2005
• Subjects: Esophageal cancer; Esophagus; Gene expression; Lymphatic system; Squamous cell carcinoma; Vascular endothelial growth factor
• ISSN: 1612-9059; 1612-9067
• DOI: 10.1007/s10388-005-0043-7

BackgroundIn esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), it has been reported that some genes are associated with lymph node (LN) metastasis. The intent of this study was to clarify the relation between LN micrometastasis and gene expression in ESCC.MethodsMicrometastasis of 2749 LN of 67 patients with thoracic ESCC were examined by cytokeratin staining. Of 67 patients, 38 were pN0 and 29 were pN1. The expression of E-cadherin, cyclin D1, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the primary tumor was examined by immunohistochemical analysis.ResultsSixteen of 38 pN0 patients had LN micrometastasis. However, there was no correlation between the expression of the four genes and LN micrometastasis (E-cadherin, P = 0.74; cyclin D1, P = 0.12; MMP9, P = 0.51; VEGF, P = 0.32). When the patients with pN1 were included in the analysis, there was also no significant association between expression of the four genes and micrometastasis.ConclusionsThere was no significant association between the expression of E-cadherin, cyclin D1, MMP9, VEGF, and LN micrometastasis in ESCC.