Expression of Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α and Its Relationship to Apoptosis and Proliferation in Human Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Summary: To investigate the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) and its relationship to apoptosis and proliferation in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of HIF-1α and PCNA. Tunnel technique was used to detect in situ cell apoptosis in LSCC. Our results showed that the expression of HIF-1α was related to the clinical stages of cancer and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The relationship between HIF-1α and PCNA was statistically significant (P<0.05) and no relationship was found between HIF-1α and apoptosis (P>0.05) It is concluded that HIF-1α plays a role in the carcinogenesis of laryngeal carcinoma and is correlated with proliferation, but bears no relationship with the apoptosis of tumor cells in LSCC.

Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Cyclooxygenase-2 in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its significance

n order to study the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） and cyclooxygenase-2 （COX-2） in human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma （LSCC） and its significance, the expression of VEGF mRNA and COX-2 mRNA in 62 cases of LSCC and 54 adjacent noncancerous laryngeal tissues and 9 normal human laryngeal mucous tissues was detected by using techniques of semi-quantitative RT-PCR. It was found that the expression level of VEGF and COX-2 mRNA was significantly increased in LSCC as compared with that in the normal human laryngeal mucous tissues （both P〈0. 01）, and the expression level of VEGF and COX-2 mRNA were significantly increased in stage Ⅲ＋ Ⅳtissues of LSCC as compared with the stage Ⅰ ＋ Ⅱ tissues of LSCC （P 〈0.01）. There was a high positive correlation between VEGF and COX-2 expression in LSCC （r= 0. 756,P〈0.01）. These data raise the possibility that VEGF and COX-2 may play key roles in the growth, invasion and metastasis of LSCC.

Expression Profile of Metastasis-associated Genes in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The differentially expressed genes between esophageal squamous cell carcinoma （ESCC） with or without lymphatic metastasis were investigated by gene chip, and the lymphatic metastasisassociated genes were screened out. Expression array was used to detect the mRNA from both the primary carcinoma and the corresponding esophageal epithelium in 15 cases of human ESCC. The lymphatic metastasis-associated genes were screened by bioinformatics between ESCC with or without lymphatic metastasis. The results showed that 43 （4. 85 %） genes significantly differed between the ESCC with and without lymphatic metastasis （P〈0.05）, of which 18（2.03 %）were upregulated and 25 （2.82 %） down-regulated. The up-regulated genes were involved in cell adhesion molecules and cell membrane receptors and the down-regulated genes were mostly cell cycle regulators and intracellular signaling molecules. It was suggested that lymphatic metastasis-associated genes were screened by gene chip, which was helpful to understand the molecular mechanism of ESCC lymphatic metastasis and lymphatic metastasis-associated genes might be used as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for lymphatic metastasis.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with pingyangmycin can inhibit the amplification and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective:To evaluate the short-term effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with pingyangmycin(PYM)in the treat-ment of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.Methods:24 cases of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were treated with PYM before the operation,and the surgeries were undergone within one week after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.PCNA,p53,Bcl-2 and CD44v6 were detected in the specimens of tumor,retreated tumor and normal tissue using immunohistochemical methods.Results:Apoptosis could be detected more often in specimens with tumor and retreated tumor after chemotherapy than that before.The expression of PCNA,p53,Bcl-2 and CD44v6 in tumor tissue after neoadjuvant chemotherapy with PYM was weaker than that before the chemotherapy.There was significant difference in the positive ratio of PCNA,p53,Bcl-2 and CD44v6 be-tween retreated tumor and tumor.Conclusion:After neoadjuvant chemotherapy with PYM,a large number of tumor cells died.The amplification and metastasis of tumor were suppressed by neoadjuvant chemotherapy with PYM.

Changing the paradigm：the potential for targeted therapy in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC) remains a highly morbid and fatal disease. Historically, it has been a model example for organ preservation and treatment stratification paradigms. Unfortunately, survival for LSCC has stagnated over the past few decades. As the era of next-generation sequencing and personalized treatment for cancer approaches, LSCC may be an ideal disease for consideration of further treatment stratification and personalization. Here, we will discuss the important history of LSCC as a model system for organ preservation, unique and potentially targetable genetic signatures of LSCC, and methods for bringing stratified, personalized treatment strategies to the 21^(st) century.

Detection of Human Papilloma Virus Type 16 E6 mRNA in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by In Situ Hybridization

Objective：Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma（LSCC） is a common malignant tumor in Northeast China and is frequently associated with well-established risk factors like smoking and alcohol abuse.Human papilloma virus（HPV） is an epitheliotropic oncogenic virus that has been detected in a variety of head and neck tumors including LSCC.This retrospective study was to investigate the prevalence of HPV infection in patients with LSCC.Methods：In situ hybridization was performed in 99 patients with LSCC to detect the expression of HPV-16 E6 mRNA.Results：The positive rate of HPV16 E6 mRNA was 36.36%（36/99） in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma（LSCC）,whereas only 3 of 50（6%） specimens of the normal laryngeal mucosa as a control group showed positive results（P0.05）.Additionally,there was no corelation between HPV16 and age,gender,clinical stage,nodal status and tumor site（P0.05）.Conclusion：The results suggest that the increased prevalence of HPV infection compared to normal laryngeal mucosa and the fact that high-risk HPV types（especially type 16） were the most frequently identified do not allow the exclusion of HPV as a risk factor in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.However,their clinical value remains to be further investigated.

A CORRELATIVE STUDY OF Ki67 AND VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR AND THEIR VALUE IN LARYNGEAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

Objective： To study the correlation between Ki67 and vascular endothelial growth factor（VEGF） and the significance of their expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma（LSCC）. Methods： The expressions of Ki67 and VEGF in 40 cases of LSCC and 5 cases of normal laryngeal mucosa were examined by immunohistochemical staining. Results： The expression levels of Ki67 and VEGF in LSCC tissue were higher than in normal laryngeal mucosa （Ki67： P〈0.001, VEGF： P〈0.001）. The two indexes＇ levels in patients of different age or different sex had no significant difference （P〉0.05）. They were higher in LSCC with metastasis of lymph nodes than in patients without metastasis （Ki67： P=0.034, VEGF： P=0.006）. The expressions of the two genes elevated correspondingly along with the development of LSCC T stage （P〈0.05）. In addition, correlation analysis indicated that the expression of Ki67 had a positive correlation with VEGF in LSCC（r=0.823, P〈0.01）. Conclusion： Ki67 and VEGF are objective indexes for the biological behavior of LSCC, and they might be helpful to the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of laryngocarcinoma.

Novel defined N7-methylguanosine modification-related lncRNAs for predicting the prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective:Through integrated bioinformatics analysis,the goal of this work was to find new,characterised N7-methylguanosine modification-related long non-coding RNAs(m7G-lncRNAs)that might be used to predict the prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC).Methods:The clinical data and LSCC gene expression data for the current investigation were initially retrieved from the TCGA database&sanitised.Then,using co-expression analysis of m7G-associated mRNAs&lncRNAs&differential expression analysis(DEA)among LSCC&normal sample categories,we discovered lncRNAs that were connected to m7G.The prognosis prediction model was built for the training category using univariate&multivariate COX regression&LASSO regression analyses,&the model’s efficacy was checked against the test category data.In addition,we conducted DEA of prognostic m7G-lncRNAs among LSCC&normal sample categories&compiled a list of co-expression networks&the structure of prognosis m7G-lncRNAs.To compare the prognoses for individuals with LSCC in the high-&low-risk categories in the prognosis prediction model,survival and risk assessments were also carried out.Finally,we created a nomogram to accurately forecast the outcomes of LSCC patients&created receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves to assess the prognosis prediction model’s predictive capability.Results:Using co-expression network analysis&differential expression analysis,we discovered 774 m7G-lncRNAs and 551 DEm7G-lncRNAs,respectively.We then constructed a prognosis prediction model for six m7G-lncRNAs(FLG−AS1,RHOA−IT1,AC020913.3,AC027307.2,AC010973.2 and AC010789.1),identified 32 DEPm7G-lncRNAs,analyzed the correlation between 32 DEPm7G-lncRNAs and 13 DEPm7G-mRNAs,and performed survival analyses and risk analyses of the prognosis prediction model to assess the prognostic performance of LSCC patients.By displaying ROC curves and a nomogram,we finally checked the prognosis prediction model's accuracy.Conclusion:By creating novel predictive lncRNA signatures for clinical diagnosis&therapy,our findings will contribute to understanding the pathogenetic process of LSCC.

Prediction of Tumor Microenvironment Characteristics and Treatment Response in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Pseudogene OR7E47P-related Immune Genes

Objective Pseudogenes are initially regarded as nonfunctional genomic sequences,but some pseudogenes regulate tumor initiation and progression by interacting with other genes to modulate their transcriptional activities.Olfactory receptor family 7 subfamily E member 47 pseudogene(OR7E47P)is expressed broadly in lung tissues and has been identified as a positive regulator in the tumor microenvironment(TME)of lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD).This study aimed to elucidate the correlation between OR7E47P and tumor immunity in lung squamous cell carcinoma(LUSC).Methods Clinical and molecular information from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)LUSC cohort was used to identify OR7E47P-related immune genes(ORIGs)by weighted gene correlation network analysis(WGCNA).Based on the ORIGs,2 OR7E47P clusters were identified using non-negative matrix factorization(NMF)clustering,and the stability of the clustering was tested by an extreme gradient boosting classifier(XGBoost).LASSO-Cox and stepwise regressions were applied to further select prognostic ORIGs and to construct a predictive model(ORPScore)for immunotherapy.The Botling cohorts and 8 immunotherapy cohorts(the Samstein,Braun,Jung,Gide,IMvigor210,Lauss,Van Allen,and Cho cohorts)were included as independent validation cohorts.Results OR7E47P expression was positively correlated with immune cell infiltration and enrichment of immune-related pathways in LUSC.A total of 57 ORIGs were identified to classify the patients into 2 OR7E47P clusters(Cluster 1 and Cluster 2)with distinct immune,mutation,and stromal programs.Compared to Cluster 1,Cluster 2 had more infiltration by immune and stromal cells,lower mutation rates of driver genes,and higher expression of immune-related proteins.The clustering performed well in the internal and 5 external validation cohorts.Based on the 7 ORIGs(HOPX,STX2,WFS,DUSP22,SLFN13,GGCT,and CCSER2),the ORPScore was constructed to predict the prognosis and the treatment response.In addition,the ORPScore was a better prognostic factor and correlated positively with the immunotherapeutic response in cancer patients.The area under the curve values ranged from 0.584 to 0.805 in the 6 independent immunotherapy cohorts.Conclusion Our study suggests a significant correlation between OR7E47P and TME modulation in LUSC.ORIGs can be applied to molecularly stratify patients,and the ORPScore may serve as a biomarker for clinical decision-making regarding individualized prognostication and immunotherapy.

Prognostic value of body mass index before treatment for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective: Patients with head and neck cancer often suffer from malnutrition. This study aims to investigate the influence of body mass index(BMI) on the prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC).Methods: A total of 473 patients with LSCC initially treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between January 2005 and July 2009 were retrospectively reviewed. Survival analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model.Results: Low BMI before treatment was significantly associated with poor overall survival in patients with LSCC(P<0.001). BMI was an independent prognostic factor for patients with LSCC.Conclusion: Leanness before treatment was associated with poor prognosis in patients with LSCC. Good nutritional status is favorable to improve survival in patients with LSCC.

Promoter methylation of tumor suppressor genes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC) is a prevalent and fatal cancer in China and other Asian countries.Epigenetic silencing of key tumor suppressor genes(TSGs) is critical to ESCC initiation and progression.Recently,many novel TSGs silenced by promoter methylation have been identified in ESCC,and these genes further serve as potential tumor markers for high-risk group stratification,early detection,and prognosis prediction.This review summarizes recent discoveries on aberrant promoter methylation of TSGs in ESCC,providing better understanding of the role of disrupted epigenetic regulation in tumorigenesis and insight into diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for this malignancy.

Prognostic Value of Ki67 and VE6F Expression in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prognostic value of measuring Ki67 and VEGF expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). METHODS The expression of Ki67 and VEGF in 32 LSCC tissues was studied by immunohistochemical staining. Of these cases, 5 recurred (recurrent group), 3 cases metastasized (metastatic group), 8 cases died (deceased group) and 24 cased survived (survival group) over a 3 year period of follow-up after their operation. RESULTS The expression of Ki67 and VEGF in the deceased group was higher compared to that in the survival group (P<0.01). Overexpression of Ki67 was found in the recurrent group and in the metastatic group (P< 0.05). VEGF expression was higher in the recurrent group than in the non recurrent group (P<0.05). With Cox-regression of multivariate analysis, Ki67 (RR:3.236; P=0.001), the clinical T stage (RR: 1.382; P=0.029) and metastasis in lymph nodes (RR:0.316; P=0.033) were shown to be independent prognostic factors for survival of LSCC patients. CONCLUSION Ki67 and VEGF expression is related to the prognosis of LSCC. Overexpression of the 2 markers indicated poor prognosis of the disease, a finding which might be helpful for the treatment of laryngocar-cinoma.

Prognostic and Predictive Protein Biomarkers in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma—A Systematic Review

Background: Despite recent advances in clinical management of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), the overall 5-year survival continues to be poor. Consequently, biomarkers of treatment response will need to be identified. Proteomic strategies are one way to attempt to identify such biomarkers. Methods: The Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched until 1st March 2014 using the terms “larynx”, “squamous cell carcinoma”, “proteomic”, and “biomarker”. Articles which met inclusion criteria were assessed for the type of biomarker investigated, the proteomic technique used, and whether any validation had been performed. Results: Six studies identified biomarkers, including UCRP, ceramides, uPA, MT1-MMP, stratifin, transferrin, albumin, S100 calcium-binding protein A9, stathmin, enolase, PLAU, IGFBP7, MMP14, THBS1, and transthyretin. Transferrin was the only biomarker to appear in more than one study. Conclusions: Our review identified several potential biomarkers of outcome in LSCC. Well designed studies will need to further validate their use in the future.

S100A4 silencing blocks invasive ability of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells

AIM： To investigate a potential role of S100A4 in esoph- agus squamous cell carcinoma metastasis （ESCCs）.METHODS： Expression of $100A4 and E-cadherin were analyzed in frozen sections from ESCCs （metastasis, n = 28; non-metastasis, n = 20） by reverse transcrip- tion-polymerase chain reaction, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. To explore the influence of $100A4 on esophageal cancer invasion and metastasis, $100A4 was overexpressed or silenced by $100A4 siRNA in TE-13 or Eca-109 cells/n vitro and /n vivo.

Differential mRNA expression profiling of oral squamous cell carcinoma by high-throughput RNA sequencing

Differentially expressed genes are thought to regulate the development and progression of oral squamous cell carcinomas （OSCC）. The purpose of this study was to screen differentially expressed mRNAs in OSCC and matched paraneoplastic normal tissues, and to explore the intrinsic mechanism of OSCC development and progres- sion. We obtained the differentially expressed mRNA expression profiles in 10 pairs of fresh-frozen OSCC tissue specimens and matched paraneoplastic normal tissue specimens by high-throughput RNA sequencing. By using Gene Ontology enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analyses, the functional significance of the differentially expressed genes were analyzed. We identified 1,120 sig- nificantly up-regulated mRNAs and 178 significantly down-regulated mRNAs in OSCC, compared to normal tissue. The differentially expressed mRNAs were involved in 20 biological processes and 68 signal pathways. Compared to adjacent normal tissue, the expression of MAGEAll was up-regulated; TCHH was down-regulated. These find- ings were verified by real-time PCR. These differentially expressed mRNAs may function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in the development and progression of OSCC. This study provides novel insights into OSCC. However, further work is needed to determine if these differentially expressed mRNAs have potential roles as diagnostic bio- markers and candidate therapeutic targets for OSCC.

Immunocytochemical detection of HoxD9 and Pbx1 homeodomain protein expression in Chinese esophageal squamous cell carcinomas

AIM: To evaluate the expression pattern of two novel oncofetal antigens, the HoxD9 and Pbx1 homeoproteins in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs) to determine what role they would play in the carcinogenesis of ESCC.METHODS: We obtained tissue samples of ESCC from 56 patients who underwent esophagectomy but not preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The diagnosis of ESCC was established and confirmed by staff pathologists. We used a highly sensitive, indirect,immunocytochemical method to detect HoxD9 and PbX1 proteins. We qualitatively and quantitively evaluated cells that exhibited and staining using a light microscope.RESULTS: In all observed carcinoma tissue samples, more than 60% of neoplastic cells stained lightly or strongly for HoxD9, and more than 50% of neoplastic cells stained lightly or strongly for Pbx1.CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that HoxD9 and Pbx1 are inappropriately expressed in most human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Understanding the role of Hox genes in esophageal epithelial cell carcinogenesis may not only augment early detection but also offer new avenues for treatment of this disease.

Aberrant methylation of the 3q25 tumor suppressor gene PTX3 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM:To identify the novel methylation-silenced gene pentraxin 3(PTX3) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC).METHODS:PTX3 mRNA expression was examined in six human ESCC cell lines,one human immortalized normal esophageal epithelial cell line,primary ESCC tumor tissue,and paired adjacent nontumor tissue using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RTPCR).Semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry was used to examine cellular localisation and protein levels.Methylation specific PCR and bisulphite genomic sequencing were employed to investigate the methylation of the candidate gene.RESULTS:In the majority of ESCC cell lines,we found that PTX3 expression was down-regulated due to gene promoter hypermethylation,which was further confirmed by bisulphite genomic sequencing.Demethylation treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine restored PTX3 mRNA expression in ESCC cell lines.Methylation was more common in tumor tissues(85%) than in adjacent nontumor tissues(25%)(P < 0.01).CONCLUSION:PTX3 is down-regulated through promoter hypermethylation in ESCC,and could potentially serve as a biomarker of ESCC.

Epigenetic inactivation of secreted frizzled-related protein 2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM： To investigate the expression and methylation status of the secreted frizzled-related protein 2 （SFRP2） in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma （ESCC） and ex- plore its role in ESCC carcinogenesis.METHODS： Seven ESCC cell lines （KYSE 30, KYSE150, KYSE410, KYSE510, EC109, EC9706 and TE-1） and one immortalized human esophageal epithelial cell line （Het- 1A）, 20 ESCC tissue samples and 20 paired adjacent non-tumor esophageal epithelial tissues were analyzed in this study. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） was employed to investigate the expression of SFRP2 in cell lines, primary ESCC tumor tissue, and paired adjacent normal tissue. Methylation status was evaluated by methylation-specific PCR and bisulfite sequencing. The correlation between expres- sion and promoter methylation of the SFRP2 gene was confirmed with treatment of 5-aza-2＇-deoxycytidine. To assess the potential role of SFRP2 in ESCC, we es-tablished stable SFRP2-transfected cells and examined them with regard to cell proliferation, colony formation, apoptosis and cell cycle in vivo and in vitro.RESULTS： SFRP2 mRNA was expressed in the im- mortalized normal esophageal epithelial cell line but not in seven ESCC cell lines. By methylation-specific PCR, complete methylation was detected in three cell lines with silenced SFRP2 expression, and extensive methylation was observed in the other four ESCC cell lines. 5-aza-2＇-deoxycytidine could restore the expres- sion of SFRP2 mRNA in the three ESCC cell lines lack- ing SFRP2 expression. SFRP2 mRNA expression was obviously lower in primary ESCC tissue than in adjacent normal tissue （0.939 ± 0.398 vs 1.51 ± 0.399, P 〈 0.01）. SFRP2 methylation was higher in tumor tissue than in paired normal tissue （95% vs 65%, P 〈 0.05）. The DNA methylation status of the SFRP2 correlated inversely with the SFRP2 expression. To assess the potential role of SFRP2 in ESCC, we established stable SFRP2 transfectants and control counterparts by in- troducing pcDNA3.1/v5 hisA -SFRP2 or pcDNA3.1/v5 hisA -empty vector into KYSE30 cells lacking SFRP2 expression. After transfection, the forced-expression of SFRP2 was confirmed by the RT-PCR. In comparison with the control groups, stably-expressed SFRP2 in KYSE 30 cells significantly reduced colony formation in vitro （47.17% 4± 15.61% vs 17% ：1： 3.6%, P = 0.031） and tumor growth in nude mice （917.86：1：249.35 mm3 vs 337.23 ± 124.43 mm3, P 〈 0.05）. Using flow cytom- etry analysis, we found a significantly higher number of early apoptotic cells in SFRP2-transfected cells than in the control cells （P = 0.025）. The mean cell number in the S and G2-M phases of the cell cycle was also significantly lower in SFRP2-transfected KYSE30 cells compared with mock transfected counterparts. CONCLUSION： Silencing of SFRP2 expression through promoter hypermethylation may be a factor in ESCC carcinogenesis through loss of its tumor-suppressive activity.

GSTM1,GSTT1,GSTP1 and CYP1A1 genetic polymorphisms and susceptibility to esophageal cancer in a French population:Different pattern of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma

AIM:To evaluate the association between CYP1A1 and GSTs genetic polymorphisms and susceptibility to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)and esophageal adenocarcinoma(ADC)in a high risk area of northwest of France. METHODS:A case-control study was conducted to investigate the genetic polymorphisms of these enzymes (CYPIAI*2C and GSTP1 exon 7 Val alleles,GSTMI*2/*2 and GSTTl *2/*2 null genotypes).A total of 79 esophageal cancer cases and 130 controls were recruited. RESULTS:GSTMI*2/*2 and CYPIAI*IA/*2C genotype frequencies were higher among squamous cell carcinomas at a level dose to statistical significance(OR =1.83,95% CI 0.88-3.83,P=0.11;OR=3.03,95% CI 0.93-9.90,P=0.07, respectively).For GSTP1 polymorphism,no difference was found between controls and cases,whatever their histological status.Lower frequency of GSTT1 deletion was observed in ADC group compared to controls with a statistically significant difference(OR=13.31,95% CI 1.66-106.92,P<0.01). CONCLUSION:In SCC,our results are consistent with the strong association of this kind of tumour with tobacco exposure.In ADC,our results suggest 3 distinct hypotheses: (1)activation of exogenous procarcinogens,such as small halogenated compounds by GSTT1;(2)contribution of GSTT1 to the inflammatory response of esophageal mucosa,which is known to be a strong risk factor for ADC, possibly through leukotriene synthesis;(3)higher sensitivity to the inflammatory process associated with intracellular depletion of glutathione.

PIK3CA gene mutations in Northwest Chinese esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM To evaluate PIK3 CA gene mutational status in Northwest Chinese esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC) patients, and examine the associations of PIK3 CA gene mutations with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome.METHODS A total of 210 patients with ESCC who underwent curative resection were enrolled in this study. Pyrosequencing was applied to investigate mutations in exons 9 and 20 of PIK3 CA gene in 210 Northwest Chinese ESCCs. The associations of PIK3 CA gene mutations with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome were examined.RESULTS PIK3 CA gene mutations in exon 9 were detected in 48 cases(22.9%) of a non-biased database of 210 curatively resected Northwest Chinese ESCCs. PIK3 CA gene mutations were not associated with sex, tobacco use, alcohol use, tumor location, stage, or local recurrence. When compared with wild-type PIK3 CA gene cases, patients with PIK3 CA gene mutations in exons 9 experienced significantly better disease-free survival and overall survival rates.CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that PIK3 CA gene mutations could act as a prognostic biomarker in Northwest Chinese ESCC patients.