RhoE expression is negatively correlated with epidermal growth factor receptor and its prognosis value in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the gene expression of RhoE, a small Rho GTP protein in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues and its association with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression and patients prognosis. Methods Thirty patietns with confirmed diagnosis of ESCC were included in this study form May 10 2015 to July 10 2016. Real time quantitative PCR was applied to detect the expression of RhoE and EGFR in paired ESCC and corresponding normal tissues. The prognosis of RhoE was further evaluated based on the recorded survival time of the 30 ESCC patients. Results Comparing with the normal esophageal tissues, RhoE was significantly downregulated in ESCC. 63.3% of these ESCC tissues expressed more than 2 fold downregulation of RhoE. Besides, EGFR gene was upregulated in these corresponding ESCC tissues. A significant negative correlation was found between RhoE and EGFR expression (r=-0.550, P=0.032). Kaplan-Meier analysis of association between RhoE expression and overall survival of these ESCC patients revealed that lower RhoE levels indicated poorer prognosis [hazard ratio (HR)=0.210, P=0.038]. Conclusion Down-regulation of RhoE was observed in ESCC tissues, which negatively correlated with EGFR expression and prognosis. All these indicate the vital tumor suppressing roles of RhoE in the development of ESCC. Key words: RhoE; Epidermal growth factor receptor; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Prognosis