Prognostic significance of galectin-1 and vasculogenic mimicry in patients with gastric cancer.

Abstract

IntroductionWe evaluated the expression of galectin-1 (Gal-1) and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in gastric cancer (GC) and investigated their relationships with the clinicopathological factors and prognostic significance in GC.Materials and methodsImmunohistochemical (IHC) staining and CD34–periodic acid-Schiff double stain were used to investigate Gal-1 expression and VM in paraffin-embedded sections from 127 patients with GC of all tumor stages. The relationships between Gal-1 expression and VM, clinicopathological variables, and survival were analyzed. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsAmong the 127 cases, 86 (67.7%) were positive for Gal-1; VM was detected in 29 cases (22.8%). There was a significant association between VM and the Gal-1 IHC staining; all cases with VM were positive for Gal-1 staining. Gal-1 expression and VM in primary GC tissue were associated with tumor size, differentiation, depth of tumor invasion, stage, lymph node metastases, and tumor emboli in microvessels (all, P < 0.05). Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that the overall survival time was 52.56 ± 2.44 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 47.77–57.35) for patients with Gal-1-negative and VM-negative primary GC tissue, 43.83 ± 2.17 months (95% CI: 39.58–48.08) for patients with Gal-1-positive but VM-negative primary GC tissue, and 23.97 ± 2.44 months (95% CI: 19.18–28.76) for patients with Gal-1-positive and VM-positive primary GC tissue (χ2 = 60.21, P < 0.01). Gal-1 expression was positively associated with VM in primary GC tissue.ConclusionBoth Gal-1 expression and VM in primary GC tissue are indicators of poor prognosis for GC after gastrectomy, and Gal-1 may be a novel target for treating VM in GC.