Clinical significance and expression of runt-related transcription factor 2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the expression and clinical significance of runt-related transcription factor (RUNX2) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods We analzyed the RNA-seq data of esophageal carcinoma patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to detect RUNX2 mRNA and protein expression in 80 ESCC patients’ cancer and adjacent normal esophageal mucosal tissues. The relationship of RUNX2 protein expression and clinicopathological parameters and the association of RUNX2 protein expression with prognosis were analyzed. Results The expression of RUNX2 mRNA in esophageal carcinoma and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was significantly increased by TCGA database analysis, P=0.000, P=0.002. The RUNX2 mRNA (P=0.000) and protein (16.942, P=0.000) expression was significantly higher in ESCC cancer tissues than in normal tissues. RUNX2 protein expression was significantly associated with the tumor invasion (6.138, P=0.013), differentiation (6.277, P=0.014) and TNM stage (3.903, P=0.048). The overall survival (P=0.048) and progression free survival (P=0.025) in patients with high RUNX2 protein expression were significantly longer than those in the patients with low RUNX2 protein expression. Multivariate analysis showed that the expression of RUNX2 was an independent risk factor of overall survival (P=0.000) and progress free survival (P=0.002). Conclusion RUNX2 might play an important role in the development and progression of ESCC and might be a prognostic factor in ESCC. Key words: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Runt-related transcription factor 2; Prognosis