Clinicopathological Significance of Cell Adhesion Molecule 4 Expression in Gallbladder Cancer and Its Prognostic Role.

Cell adhesion molecule 4 (CADM4) is involved in intercellular interactions and is a tumor-suppressor candidate. The role of CADM4 in gallbladder cancer (GBC) has not been reported. Therefore, the clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of CADM4 expression in GBC were evaluated in the present study. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on 100 GBC tissues to assess CADM4 expression at the protein level. The association between CADM4 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of GBC was analyzed, and the prognostic significance of CADM4 expression was evaluated. Low CADM4 expression was significantly associated with advanced T category (p = 0.010) and high AJCC stage (p = 0.019). In a survival analysis, low CADM4 expression was associated with shorter overall survival (OS; p = 0.001) and recurrence-free survival (RFS; p = 0.018). In univariate analyses, low CADM4 expression was associated with shorter OS (p = 0.002) and RFS (p = 0.023). In multivariate analyses, low CADM4 expression was an independent prognostic factor of OS (p = 0.013). Low CADM4 expression was associated with tumor invasiveness and poor clinical outcomes in patients with GBC. CADM4 may play an important role in cancer progression and patient survival and can be used as a potential prognostic marker of GBC.

ASAP1 Expression in Invasive Breast Cancer and Its Prognostic Role.

Breast cancer is a major global health burden with high morbidity and mortality rates. Previous studies have reported that increased expression of ASAP1 is associated with poor prognosis in various types of cancer. This study was conducted on 452 breast cancer patients who underwent surgery at Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea. Data on clinicopathological characteristics including molecular pathologic markers were collected. Immunohistochemical staining of ASAP1 expression level were used to classify patients into high and low groups. In total, 452 cases low ASAP1 expression group was associated with significantly worse recurrence-free survival (p = 0.029). In ER-positive cases (n = 280), the low ASAP1 expression group was associated with significantly worse overall survival (p = 0.039) and recurrence-free survival (p = 0.029). In multivariate cox analysis, low ASAP1 expression was an independent significant predictor of poor recurrence-free survival in the overall patient group (hazard ratio = 2.566, p = 0.002) and ER-positive cases (hazard ratio = 4.046, p = 0.002). In the analysis of the TCGA dataset, the low-expression group of ASAP1 protein demonstrated a significantly poorer progression-free survival (p = 0.005). This study reports that low ASAP1 expression was associated with worse recurrence-free survival in invasive breast cancer.

MicroRNA-130b functions as an oncogene and is a predictive marker of poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma.

Lung cancer is an aggressive disease and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In the past several decades, the incidence of adenocarcinoma has significantly increased, and accounts for ~40% of all lung cancer cases. In the present study, we investigated the clinicopathologic significance of microRNA-130b (miR-130b) in lung adenocarcinoma and analyzed its cancer-specific functions. RNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens of 146 lung adenocarcinoma cases, and miR-130b expression was analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. NCI-H1650 cells were transfected with miR-130b mimic and inhibitor to determine its effects on tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The expression of miR-130b in lung adenocarcinoma tissues was classified into two groups according to the median value. High expression of miR-130b was associated with higher histological grade, advanced pathologic T stage, lymph node metastasis, and lymphovascular invasion. Moreover, survival analysis showed that high miR-130b expression was significantly associated with unfavorable prognosis. In addition, miR-130b upregulation promoted cell migration and invasion, while its downregulation resulted in decreased cell proliferation, migration, and wound healing in in vitro experiments. In conclusion, these findings suggest that miR-130b promotes tumor progression and serves as a biomarker of poor prognosis for patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Hence, targeting miR-130b may serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for lung cancer.

Effect of the Spray Distance on the Properties of High Velocity Oxygen-Fuel (HVOF) Sprayed WC-12Co Coatings.

In this study influence of spray distance on the properties of WC-12Co coatings deposited by HVOF was investigated. WC-12Co coating was sprayed at spray distance of 300, 385 and 450 mm. From microstructure observation, it is confirmed that the porosity of coatings increases with increasing the spray distance. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that the coatings consist of pure WC, W, and Co as well as W2C and Co6W6C phases. The increase of the spray distance accelerated the decarburization of coatings. From micro hardness tests, it was found that the hardness and the fracture toughness decreased with increasing spray distance. These mechanical properties would be related with not only porosity but also the degree of decarburization.

Preparation and Properties of WC-Based Alloy Coatings with Controlled Co and Cr via High Velocity Oxy-Fuel Spray Technique.

WC based alloy coatings included different mass percent of Co and Cr have been synthesized on high carbon steel by using a facile high velocity oxy-fuel spray method. The mechanical nature of the coating films has been investigated by micro vickers hardness and fracture toughness. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and EDX analyses indicate that the three different samples (WC-10Co-4Cr, WC-17Co, and WC-12Co) consist of pure WC, W, Cr, and Co constituents as well as W2C and Co6W6C phases. The SEM and image analysis results show that WC-10Co-4Cr condition has higher porosity than those of WC-17Co, and WC-12Co coatings. WC-17Co coating showed the highest value in the hardness and fracture toughness test among three different samples. The obtained results revealed that the mechanical properties of WC based alloy coatings synthesized by a facile high velocity oxy-fuel spray method is very sensitive to Co content.

Effects of Heat Treatment on Interfacial Behavior and Bonding Strength of Surface Activated Bonding Ti-Al Laminate.

The surface activated bonding (SAB) method generally has the advantage of high bonding strength, low contact resistance, and high microstructural stability at room temperature. In this study, Ti-Al laminates were produced by surface activated bonding with aluminum and titanium foils. Heat treatment was conducted at the temperature range from 200 to 550 °C in vacuum. The bonding strength Ti-Al laminates was measured by a peel test, and the interfacial characteristics were investigated microstructural observation. The results showed that the bonding strength was the highest with heat treatment at 400 °C, microstructure observation revealed that the bonding strength of the Ti-Al laminate was influenced by the interfacial characteristics.

Low MTUS1 Protein Expression Is Associated with Poor Survival in Patients with Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Microtubule-associated tumor suppressor 1 (MTUS1) is a novel tumor suppressor protein involved in cell proliferation, migration, and tumor growth. MTUS1 is thought to be downregulated in various human cancers and associated with poor prognosis. We evaluated the clinicopathologic significance and prognostic value of MTUS1 in colorectal adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining for MTUS1 was performed on tissue microarrays of 393 colorectal adenocarcinoma cases, and MTUS1 staining was classified into high- and low-expression groups. Then, we investigated the correlations between MTUS1 protein expression and various clinicopathological parameters and patient survival. RESULTS: MTUS1 protein was expressed at various grade levels in the cytoplasm of tumor cells, which showed loss or decreased expression of MTUS1. A total of 253 cases (64.4%) were classified into the low MTUS1 protein expression group and 140 cases (35.6%) into the high MTUS1 expression group. A low level of MTUS1 protein significantly correlated with tumor size (p = 0.047), histological grade (p < 0.001), lymphovascular invasion (p < 0.001), perineural invasion (p = 0.047), and lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001). Survival analyses showed that patients with low MTUS1 protein expression had worse overall survival (p = 0.007, log-rank test) and worse recurrence-free survival (p = 0.019, log-rank test) than those with high MTUS1 expression. CONCLUSIONS: Low MTUS1 protein expression is associated with adverse clinicopathological characteristics and poor survival outcomes in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. These results suggest that MTUS1 functions as a tumor suppressor in colorectal adenocarcinoma and could be a potential prognostic biomarker.

Immunohistochemical Analysis of Single-Stranded DNA Binding Protein 2 in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers.

Single-stranded DNA binding protein 2 (SSBP2) is a tumor suppressor candidate. In this study, the expression level and clinicopathological significance of SSBP2 in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) were evaluated. We also identified biological pathways associated with a set of genes potentially related to SSBP2. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on 70 SCC and 146 BCC cases to assess SSBP2 expression semi-quantitatively. In addition, the associations between SSBP2 expression and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis was performed using publicly available data and web-based bioinformatics tools. Compared with BCC, SCC had a significantly low SSBP2 expression (p < 0.001). In total, 12 (17.1%) of the 70 SCC cases and 30 (20.5%) of the 146 BCC cases showed low SSBP2 expression. Among SCC cases, ulceration (p = 0.005) and a deep level of invasion (p = 0.012) showed an association with low SSBP2 expression. Local recurrence was slightly more common in the SCC subgroup with low SSBP2 expression, although the difference was not significant (p = 0.058). Using GO enrichment analysis, we identified several biological functions performed by a set of 36 genes in SCC. SSBP2 evaluation using IHC can be helpful in the differential diagnosis of SCC and BCC. SSBP2 expression was associated with tumor invasiveness in SCC.

Effects of Cortactin Expression on Prognosis in Patients with Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cortactin is overexpressed in several types of invasive cancers. However, the role of cortactin expression in breast cancer prognosis has not been sufficiently elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the clinicopathological significance of cortactin in breast cancer. METHODS: Tissue microarrays were prepared from a cohort of 506 patients with breast cancer, and cortactin expression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry. The cortactin immunoreactivity score (IRS) was quantified as the product of the intensity score and the percentage of immunoreactive cells. Cortactin expression was classified as low or high using the IRS (IRS ≤ 4 as a cortactin-low value and IRS > 4 as a cortactin-high value). We compared cortactin expression and clinicopathological factors according to the molecular subtypes of breast cancer. RESULTS: Of 506 breast cancer cases, 333 and 173 showed high and low cortactin expression, respectively. Of the 333 patients with high cortactin expression, 204, 58, and 71 had luminal, HER2, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), respectively. In the univariate and multivariate analyses of patients with TNBC, cortactin expression was found to be a significant prognostic factor for overall survival (OS). However, in all patients with non-TNBC, cortactin expression had no significant association with prognosis or overall survival. Survival curves revealed that among patients with TNBC, the high-cortactin group had a better prognosis in disease-free survival and OS. CONCLUSIONS: Cortactin expression may be a good biomarker for predicting the prognosis of patients with TNBC.

CD47 Expression in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers and Its Clinicopathological Implications.

CD47 is a cell surface molecule and regulates diverse cellular responses. CD47 is highly expressed in cancer cells and has potential as a therapeutic target and prognostic factor in cancer patients. The expression patterns of CD47 in basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and its precursor lesions, and its clinicopathological significance were investigated. CD47 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 152 cases of BCC and 71 cases of SCC. For comparison of CD47 expression, actinic keratosis (AK), squamous cell carcinoma in situ (SCCIS), keratoacanthoma (KA), and normal skin (NS) tissue were used. CD47 expression in BCC was significantly lower than that of SCC (p < 0.001). CD47 expression levels in SCC and KA were significantly higher than those of NS and AK (p < 0.05). High CD47 expression was significantly associated with the presence of ulceration (p = 0.005) and a deeper level of invasion (p = 0.011) in BCC. In addition, high CD47 expression was significantly associated with the presence of ulceration (p = 0.019) and larger tumor size (p = 0.004) in SCC. CD47 expression was associated with tumorigenesis and tumor progression in non-melanoma skin cancers.

CD47 Expression Predicts Unfavorable Prognosis in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma after Curative Resection.

The role of CD47 expression as a 'do not eat me' signal that inhibits phagocytosis of tumor cells by macrophages is well established. Immune checkpoint therapy that targets CD47 has been successful in preclinical trials and is currently undergoing clinical investigation for various human malignancies. Here, the clinicopathological correlation with CD47 expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) was explored. CD47 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining in tissue microarray sections of 235 ccRCC tissues. CD47 expression was observed in 28 (11.9%) of 235 ccRCC tissues and was significantly associated with higher WHO/ISUP grade (p = 0.001), frequent lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.036), frequent renal vein thrombus (p = 0.018), frequent sinus fat invasion (p = 0.004), frequent sarcomatous change (p = 0.001), higher pT stage (p = 0.002), higher pN stage (p = 0.002), higher pM stage (p < 0.001), and advanced American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (p = 0.002). In the survival analyses, positive CD47 expression was associated with cancer-specific survival (p = 0.003). However, positive CD47 expression was not associated with recurrence-free survival. In conclusion, CD47 expression was associated with adverse clinicopathological parameters and cancer-specific survival in patients with ccRCC.

Clinicopathological Implications of ASAP1 Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: The expression of ArfGAP with SH3 domain ankyrin repeat and PH domain 1 (ASAP1) is increased in various types of cancer, showing potential as a prognostic marker. The clinicopathological implications of ASAP1 expression in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. We thus investigated the clinicopathological significance and prognostic effect of ASAP1 expression in HCC patients. Materials and Methods: ASAP1 expression was assessed in 149 HCC tissue samples using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The associations between ASAP1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. The prognostic effect of ASAP1 expression in patients with HCC was evaluated based on survival analyses and confirmed using a web-based tool. Results: ASAP1 expression was observed in the cytoplasm of tumor cells. High ASAP1 expression was observed in 89 (59.7%) of 149 cases. High ASAP1 expression was significantly associated with male patients (p = 0.018), higher histological grade (p = 0.013), vessel invasion (p = 0.021), and higher stage (p = 0.020). High ASAP1 expression was associated with shorter overall survival (OS; p = 0.041) and recurrence-free survival (RFS; p = 0.008) based on Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. Web-based analysis using Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter showed high mRNA ASAP1 expression to be associated with short OS (p = 0.001). Conclusion: High ASAP1 expression was associated with aggressive clinicopathological characteristics and poor clinical outcomes in patients with HCC. ASAP1 can be considered a prognostic biomarker in HCC patients.

Decreased Expression of Cell Adhesion Molecule 4 in Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Its Prognostic Implications.

Cell adhesion molecule 4 (CADM4) is a novel tumor suppressor candidate. The prognostic implications of CADM4 in gastric cancer have not been conclusively elucidated. Therefore, we evaluated the clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of CADM4 expression in a large series of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining for CADM4 was performed on 534 gastric adenocarcinomas. We evaluated the associations between CADM4 expression and the clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of the adenocarcinomas. The prognostic effect of CADM4 expression was evaluated by survival analyses. Low CADM4 expression was significantly associated with young age (p = 0.046), aggressive histological type (p < 0.001), high pT category (p < 0.001), nodal metastasis (p < 0.001), high stage (p = 0.002), lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.001), and perineural invasion (p = 0.001). Low CADM4 expression was more frequently observed in tumors without human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) amplification (p = 0.002). Low CADM4 expression was associated with worse overall survival (p = 0.007) and recurrence-free survival (p = 0.005) in the survival analyses. Low CADM4 expression was associated with aggressive clinicopathological features and poor clinical outcomes. CADM4 can act as a tumor suppressor in gastric adenocarcinoma and can be considered a prognostic biomarker.

Low expression of DUSP4 expression predicts unfavorable prognosis in gallbladder adenocarcinoma.

Background: Dual specificity phosphatase 4 (DUSP4), which regulates the mitogen activated protein kinases, has emerged as a tumor suppressor gene in several human malignancies. Aims and Objectives: In this study, we investigated the clinicopathologic significance and the prognostic role of DUSP4 in gallbladder adenocarcinoma. Materials and methods: DUSP4 expression was evaluated immunohistochemically in tissue microarray from 110 gallbladder adenocarcinoma samples and scored by H score system. The cut off (H score <170) was determined by ROC curve analysis. Results: Low expression of DUSP4 expression was observed in 57 (51.8%) out of 110 gallbladder adenocarcinoma samples. Low expression of DUSP4 expression was significantly associated with high histologic grade (P = 0.017), high pT stage (P = 0.002) and high AJCC stage (P = 0.007). Kaplan Meier survival curves revealed that patients with low expression of DUSP4 expression had significantly worse cancer specific survival (P = 0.024, log rank test). However, there was no significant association between DUSP4 expression and recurrence free survival. Conclusions: In conclusion, gallbladder adenocarcinoma with low expression of DUSP4 expression was associated with adverse clinicopathologic characteristics and poor patient outcome.patient outcome.

Loss of Single-Stranded DNA Binding Protein 2 Expression Is Associated with Aggressiveness and Poor Overall Survival in Patients with Invasive Breast Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Single-stranded DNA binding protein 2 (SSBP2) is involved in the DNA damage response and the maintenance of genome stability. Previous studies have suggested that SSBP2 has a tumor suppressor function or oncogenic function. Loss of SSBP2 expression has been reported in various tumors. However, the role of SSBP2 expression in invasive breast carcinoma has not been reported. METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining for SSBP2 was performed on tissue microarrays consisting of 491 invasive breast carcinoma cases. The result of nuclear SSBP2 staining was stratified as either negative or positive. Then, we investigated the correlations between SSBP2 expression and various clinicopathological parameters and patient outcomes. RESULTS: Loss of nuclear SSBP2 expression was observed in 61 cases (12.4%) of 491 invasive breast carcinomas. Loss of nuclear SSBP2 expression was significantly correlated with larger tumor size (p < 0.001, chi-squared test), higher histological grade (p = 0.016, Cochran-Armitage trend test), higher pathological T stage (p < 0.001, Cochran-Armitage trend test), estrogen receptor status (p < 0.001, chi-squared test), and molecular subtype (p < 0.001, chi-squared test). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that patients with loss of nuclear SSBP2 expression had worse overall survival (p = 0.013, log-rank test). However, loss of nuclear SSBP2 expression was not correlated with recurrence-free survival (p = 0.175, log-rank test). CONCLUSIONS: Loss of nuclear SSBP2 expression was associated with adverse clinicopathological characteristics and poor patient outcomes. SSBP2 acts as a tumor suppressor in invasive breast carcinoma and may be used as a prognostic biomarker.

Clinicopathological significance of CD47 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIMS: CD47 is upregulated on the surface of various tumour cells, and it is known to inhibit the phagocytosis of tumour cells by macrophages. Immunotherapy that targets CD47 has demonstrated success in preclinical trials and is now under clinical investigation for both solid and haematological malignancies. However, data regarding CD47 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue and its correlation with clinical outcomes in patients with HCC remain limited. Here, we investigated the clinicopathological features associated with CD47 expression in HCC. METHODS: CD47 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarray sections containing 166 HCC tissues. CD47 expression was considered positive if 10% or more tumour cells were stained. RESULTS: CD47 expression was observed in 36 (21.7%) of 166 HCC tissues and was significantly associated with frequent large vessel invasion, advanced American Joint Committee on Cancer stage and higher Ki-67 proliferation index. In the survival analyses, CD47 expression was not associated with recurrence-free survival or overall survival in total patients with HCC. However, in patients who received surgical resection without any adjuvant treatment, CD47 expression was associated with shorter recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: CD47 expression was significantly associated with adverse pathological features and poor clinical outcomes in patients with HCC who did not receive adjuvant treatment.

Loss of YY1 expression predicts unfavorable prognosis in stage III colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Yin Yang 1 (YY1), the multifunctional transcription factor, has recently been assigned biological properties related to human malignancies. YY1 can facilitate both tumor suppression and tumor growth. The conflicting role of YY1 in human malignancies is not yet fully explained. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we determined the clinicopathologic significance and prognostic role of YY1 in stage III colorectal cancer (CRC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: YY1 expression was evaluated immunohistochemically in tissue microarray from 345 CRCs. YY1 expression was scored by the proportion of tumor cells with nuclear staining into 4 scores (0, none; 1+, ≤10%; 2+, 10 to ≤25%; 3+, >25%). A score of 0 and 1 were considered as loss of expression. RESULTS: Loss of YY1 expression was observed in 49 (14.2%) out of 345 CRCs and was associated with larger tumor size (P = 0.004), tumor deposit (P = 0.008), and higher pathologic tumor (pT) stage (P = 0.004). In stage III group, loss of YY1 expression was associated with larger tumor size (P = 0.027) and tumor deposit (P = 0.011). Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed no significant difference between patients with YY1 loss and patients with intact YY1 in both cancer-specific survival and recurrence-free survival (P = 0.330 and P = 0.470, respectively). In American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage subgroup, loss of YY1 expression was associated with poor recurrence-free survival in AJCC stage III CRC (P = 0.038). CONCLUSION: Loss of YY1 expression was significantly associated with aggressive phenotypes and poor patient outcome in AJCC stage III CRC.

Low-Level Expression of MTUS1 Is Associated with Poor Survival in Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Microtubule-associated tumor suppressor 1 (MTUS1) is thought to be downregulated in arious human cancers, which suggests its role as a tumor suppressor. This study investigated the clinicopathological significance of MTUS1 expression in lung adenocarcinoma. Tissue microarray blocks consisting of 161 cases were constructed, and immunohistochemical staining was used to assess MTUS1 expression. Correlations of MTUS1 expression and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. In addition, we used public databases and performed bioinformatics analysis. Low level of MTUS1 was significantly associated with higher clinical stage (p = 0.006), higher tumor stage (p = 0.044), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.01), worse histologic grade (p = 0.007), lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.014), and higher Ki-67 proliferation index (p < 0.001). Patients with low MTUS1 expression also showed shorter disease-free survival (p = 0.002) and cancer-specific survival (p = 0.006). Analysis of data from the Cancer Genome Atlas confirmed that the mRNA expression of MTUS1 in lung adenocarcinoma was significantly lower than that of normal lung tissue (p = 0.02), and patients with decreased MTUS1 expression showed significantly shorter overall survival (p = 0.008). These results suggest that MTUS1 may be a potential biomarker for predicting clinical outcomes in lung adenocarcinoma patients.

Loss of DUSP4 Expression as a Prognostic Biomarker in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Dual-specificity protein phosphatase 4 (DUSP4) is a negative regulator of mitogen-activated protein kinases. The prognostic impact of DUSP4 expression in renal cell carcinoma is not well studied. Therefore, we evaluated the clinicopathological implications of DUSP4 expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma by performing immunohistochemistry (IHC). The clinical outcome according to DUSP4 expression was evaluated through survival analyses, and the association between mRNA expression and prognosis was confirmed by online analysis (Kaplan-Meier plotter). Loss of DUSP4 expression was noted in most histological subtypes of renal cell carcinoma. Loss of DUSP4 expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma was significantly correlated with old age (p = 0.033), high histologic grade (p < 0.001), tumor necrosis (p < 0.001), and high pT category (p < 0.001). In survival analysis, loss of DUSP4 expression was associated with poor clinical outcomes in cancer-specific survival and recurrence-free survival (p = 0.010 and p = 0.007, respectively). Upon TCGA data analysis, patients with low DUSP4 mRNA expression showed a shorter overall survival (p = 0.023). These results suggest that loss of DUSP4 expression can be used as a potential biomarker for predicting clinical outcomes in clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients.

Low DUSP4 Expression Is Associated With Aggressive Phenotypes and Poor Prognosis in Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Dual-specificity protein phosphatase 4 (DUSP4) negatively regulates MAPK signaling and is involved in various cellular processes. We herein evaluated the relationship between DUSP4 expression and clinicopathological characteristics in a large series of gastric cancer samples. MATERIALS AND METHODS: DUSP4 expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in 508 gastric cancer samples. Cases were classified according to the TCGA molecular classification and HER2 amplification. Kaplan-Meier plots were used to predict the relationship between mRNA expression of DUSP4 and survival. RESULTS: Low expression of DUSP4 was significantly correlated with larger tumor size, higher pT category, positive nodal status, higher stage, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, worse overall survival, and worse recurrence-free survival. No correlation was observed between DUSP4 expression and molecular characteristics. Bioinformatics analysis showed that low mRNA expression was associated with a poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: Low expression of DUSP4 is associated with aggressive phenotypes of gastric cancer and a poor prognosis.