CD51 is an independent unfavorable prognostic factor in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common cancer in East Asia and some other parts of the world with a dismal prognosis. CD51 (integrin αv),a transmembrane glycoprotein responsible for cell-to-matrix binding has been found to enhance tumor progression. However, its expression and clinicopathological significance in ESCC tumors are not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression level of CD51 and to explore its clinicopathological significance in ESCC. METHODS: The expression of CD51 in 122 ESCC samples was examined by immunohistochemistry and its clinicopathological significance was evaluated. RESULTS: The expression of CD51 was observed in tumor cell membrane and/or cytoplasm, with a positive rate of 48.36% (59/122). High expression of CD51 was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P =  0.031), tumor size (P =  0.028) and invasive depth (P =  0.027). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that positive expression of CD51 was correlated with poor overall survival of ESCC patients (P =  0.015). Multivariate analysis suggested that CD51 was an independent prognositic factor for ESCC (hazard ration = 1.604; 95% CI, 1.086-2.368; P =  0.017). CONCLUSION: These data suggested CD51 was a predictor for the prognosis of ESCC patients.