Expression of Embryonic Stem Cell Marker Oct-4 and Its Prognostic Significance in Rectal Adenocarcinoma

• Published in: Chinese journal of cancer research Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 106 - 111
• Main Authors: Xing, Chun-gen, Lu, Xue-guan, Zhang, Yong-sheng, Zhou, Fang, Xu, Xiao-ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Chinese Anti-Cancer Association 01.06.2010; Department of General Surgery,Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China%Department of Radiation Oncology,Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China%Department of Pathology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215004, China
• Subjects: Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article; Adenocarcinoma; Oct-4; R735.3; Prognosis; Stem cell; Rectum
• ISSN: 1000-9604; 1993-0631
• DOI: 10.1007/s11670-010-0106-8

Objective： Recent evidence suggests that Oct-4 is highly expressed in several cancers, and its expression contributes to tumor growth. In this study, we investigated the level of Oct-4 expression in rectal adenocarcinoma, and evaluated the prognostic significance of Oct-4 expression in these cases. Methods： The immunohistochemical expression of Oct-4 was evaluated in 52 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded postoperative rectal adenocarcinoma tissue samples. The impact of the immunoreactivity of Oct-4 in regard to clinical outcome was determined by Kaplan-Meier and log-rank. Results： The expression level of Oct-4 ranged from 0 to 18.5%. There was no significant association between Oct-4 expression and gender （P=0.772）, age （P=0.123）, clinical stage （P=0.391）, and histological grade （P=0.056）. The 3-year local recurrence-free rates with negative and positive expression of Oct-4 were 83.5% and 75.0%, respectively （P=0.583）. The 3-year metastasis-free rates with negative and positive expression of Oct-4 were 88.6% and 61.9%, respectively （P=0.035）. The 3-year overall survival rates with negative and positive expression of Oct-4 were 77.9% and 49.0%, respectively （P=0.037）. Conclusion： The results suggest that embryonic stem cell marker Oct-4 expression may have prognostic significance in patients with rectal adenocarcinoma. However, to confirm this more and larger studies are required.