Abstract:

Objective To explore the expression of stanniocalcin-1（STC-1） protein in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma（ESCC） patients and its clinical significance. MethodsA total of 85 paired ESCC tissues and their adjacent normal tissues were collected. STC-1 protein expression was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining in ESCC tissues， and its correlations with clinicopathological factors and progressionfree survival（PFS） were further evaluated. ResultsThere were 71 cases（83.5％） showing a higher level of STC-1 protein expression in tumor tissues than in adjacent normal tissues， and the rates of STC-1 protein high／moderate expression in ESCC and adjacent normal tissues were 65.9％（56／85） and 7.1％（6／85）， respectively， showing a significant difference（P＜0.001）. Furthermore， STC-1 protein expression was associated with clinical stage（P=0.015） and lymph metastasis（P=0.022）. ESCC patients with high/moderate STC-1 protein expression had a poorer average PFS than those with low and unexpressed STC-1 protein（17.5 months vs. 21.1 months， P=0.006）. Cox proportional hazard model also indicated that STC-1 protein was an independent factor related to PFS. Conclusion STC-1 protein expression plays an important role in ESCC initiation and progression， and may be a potential biomarker for prognosis assessment of ESCC.