Abstract
IntroductionThe role of CD147 as an important indicator of tumor prognosis remains controversially discussed in literature. We focused on the prognostic significance of CD147 expression in esophageal cancer patients. While some studies report that CD147 is an unfavorable prognostic factor in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, others showed no significant correlation. However, only one study draws attention to the significance of CD147 in esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is one of the most rapidly increasing neoplasms in the western world.MethodsTo finally clarify the impact of CD147 as a prognostic factor, especially for esophageal adenocarcinomas, we analyzed CD147 expression in a tissue microarray of 359 esophageal adenocarcinomas and 254 esophageal squamous cell cancer specimens. For the immuno-histochemical analysis, we used a primary antibody specific for CD147. Staining intensity and proportion of positive tumor cells were scored (negative, weak, moderate, strong staining). These findings were compared to normal esophageal tissue and correlated to the histopathological tumor phenotype and survival data.ResultsCD147 expression was detectable in weak intensities in benign esophageal tissue (85.78%) and expressed in predominately moderate to strong intensities in esophageal cancer (88.34%). Strong CD147 immunostaining was linked to increased infiltration depth (p = 0.015) and differentiation (p = 0.016) in esophageal squamous cell cancer but revealed no significant correlation with histopathology of adenocarcinoma. Moreover, CD147 intensity was unrelated to overall survival in this collective for both subtypes of esophageal cancer.ConclusionThus, our data show that CD147 has no prognostic value, neither in esophageal adenocarcinoma nor squamous cell carcinoma.
Highlights
The role of CD147 as an important indicator of tumor prognosis remains controversially discussed in literature
CD147 immunostaining was detectable in weak intensities in 11.7%, moderate intensities in 41.7%, and strong intensities in 46.7% of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), while CD147 immunostaining was weak in 14.2%, moderate in 50.5%, and strong in 35.3% of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) specimens
We are able to clarify that CD147 has no prognostic relevance in esophageal adenocarcinoma or squamous cell cancer
Summary
The role of CD147 as an important indicator of tumor prognosis remains controversially discussed in literature. While some studies report that CD147 is an unfavorable prognostic factor in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, others showed no significant correlation. Staining intensity and proportion of positive tumor cells were scored (negative, weak, moderate, strong staining). These findings were compared to normal esophageal tissue and correlated to the histopathological tumor phenotype and survival data. Strong CD147 immunostaining was linked to increased infiltration depth (p = 0.015) and differentiation (p = 0.016) in esophageal squamous cell cancer but revealed no significant correlation with histopathology of adenocarcinoma. CD147 is highly expressed on the cell surface (Muramatsu and Miyauchi 2003; Yan et al 2005; Yurchenko et al 2006) and promotes the synthesis and secretion of matrix metalloproteinases in fibroblasts. Due to its membranous localization, CD147 has been suggested as a potential therapeutic target in several cancer types (Dean et al 2009; Han et al 2010; Hu et al 2017; Zhang et al 2018)
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