Overexpression of matriptase correlates with poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

• Published in: Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology Vol. 464; no. 1; pp. 19 - 27
• Main Authors: Ha, Sang Yun, Kim, Ki Yeon, Lee, Nam Kyung, Kim, Moon Gyo, Kim, Seok-Hyung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - enzymology; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - mortality; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Cell Line, Tumor; Disease Progression; Esophageal Neoplasms - enzymology; Esophageal Neoplasms - mortality; Esophageal Neoplasms - pathology; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; Female; HEK293 Cells; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Original Article; Pathology; Prognosis; Serine Endopeptidases - analysis; Serine Endopeptidases - physiology; Matriptase; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Biomarker; Prognosis; Expression
• ISSN: 0945-6317; 1432-2307
• DOI: 10.1007/s00428-013-1504-3

Matriptase is one of the type II transmembrane serine proteases and is known to be involved in cancer progression. Increased matriptase expression has been reported in a variety of human cancers, and its association with poor prognosis has been highlighted in some cancer types. However, its exact role in cancer progression and its effect on patient survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are still unclear. We performed immunohistochemical staining of matriptase in 171 ESCC samples after antibody validation and evaluated the association of its expression with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. High matriptase expression was observed in 38.6 % (66/171) of ESCC samples and more frequently in N3 stage and in poorly differentiated tumors. Both overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were significantly lower for patients with high expression of matriptase than for patients with low expression (5-year OS rate, 38.6 vs 55.3 %; p  = 0.034 and 5-year DFS rate, 30.5 vs 49.4 %; p  = 0.007). High matriptase expression was an independent prognostic factor for OS [hazard ratio (HR), 1.65 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.01–2.68); p  = 0.045] and for DFS [HR, 1.79 (95 % CI, 1.14–2.81); p  = 0.012]. In conclusion, higher expression of matriptase is an independent prognostic factor involved in the progression of ESCC, which suggests that matriptase is a factor in ESCC tumor progression and also a potential molecular therapeutic target.