自噬相关基因ULK1在外阴鳞癌中的表达及临床意义

Expression and clinical significance of autophagy-related gene ULK1 in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma tissue

目的研究自噬相关基因ULK1在外阴鳞癌中的表达及其与外阴鳞癌临床病理特征和预后的关系。方法收集48例外阴鳞癌组织和20例正常外阴组织,采用免疫组织化学法检测标本中ULK1的表达,分析其表达与外阴鳞癌患者临床病理特征之间的关系,并对外阴鳞癌患者进行随访以探讨ULK1表达与患者预后的相关性。结果 ULK1在正常外阴组织中表达率为80.0%,明显高于外阴鳞癌组织中的表达率(54.2%),差异有统计学意义(P=0.046)。ULK1表达情况与外阴鳞癌患者FIGO分期(P=0.017)、肿瘤浸润深度(P=0.028)及淋巴结转移状况(P=0.017)显著相关。ULK1表达阳性患者的生存率明显优于表达阴性的患者(P=0.010)。Cox回归模型多因素分析结果显示,ULK1表达是与患者生存时间相关的独立预后因素(P=0.041)。结论 ULK1在外阴鳞癌中表达下降,且与患者FIGO分期、肿瘤浸润深度及淋巴结转移状况相关,可作为判断外阴鳞癌预后新的生物学标志物。

Objective To investigate the expression of autophagy-related gene ULK1 in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma, and explore the relationship between the expression of ULK1 and the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. Methods Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of ULK1 in 48 specimens of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma tissue and 20 specimens of normal vulva tissue. The correlations of ULK1 expression and the clinical characteristics of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma were statistically analyzed, and the patients were foll owed up for the study of the correlation between ULK1 expression and patients＇ prognosis. Results The expression rate of ULK1 was significantly higher in normal vulva tissues（80.0%） compared with that in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma tissues（54.2%, P=0.046）. The expression of ULK1 was obviously correlated with FIGO stage（P=0.017）, tumor invasion（P=0.028）, and lymph node metastasis（P=0.017）. The survival rate was significantly higher in patients with ULK1 positive expression than in patients with ULK1 negative expression（P=0.010）. Cox regression analysis showed that the ULK1 expression was an independent prognostic factor associated with the patients＇ survival time（P=0.041）. Conclusion The ULK1 expression is down-regulated in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma tissue, and closely associated with FIGO stage, depth of tumor invasion, and lymph node metastasis. ULK1, as a novel molecular marker, may predict the prognosis of patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma.