Study on the expression and significance of FSCN 1 protein in pituitary adenomas with tissue microarray

Abstract

Objectives To investigate the expression changes of Fascin-1 (FSCN1) protein in pituitary adenomas and to analyze its relationship between clinical features and prognosis. Methods Tissue microarray was used to construct 10 normal pituitary tissues and 212 pituitary adenomas. The pituitary adenomas were divided into invasive (n=97) and noninvasive pituitary adenomas (n=115) according to whether they were invasive or not. Leica BOND-Ⅲ system was used to detect the expression of FSCN 1 protein. The clinic data of 212 patients with pituitary adenoma were analyzed, and they were followed up by telephone. Results The nuclear positive rate of normal pituitaries was 10.0% (1/10); the nuclear positive rate of pituitary adenomas was 34.9% (74/212), and the cytoplasmic positive rate was 20.8% (44/212). The nuclear positive rate of FSCN1 in the invasive group was 54.6% (53/97), that in the non-invasive group was 18.3% (21/115) (χ2 = 30.65, P=0.004); the cytoplasmic positive rate of FSCN1 in the invasive group was 37.1% (36/97), and that in the noninvasive group was 6.9% (8/115) (χ2 =29.09, P=0.000). In the FSCN1high expression group, the tumor recurrence rate of 67 patients was 22.4% (15/67). In the FSCN1 low expression group, the tumor recurrence rate of 145 patients was 7.6% (11/145) (χ2=9.3310, P=0.002). Conclusions The expression level of FSCN1 protein is closely associated with whether pituitary adenoma invasion or not. It is a candidate gene for predicting the pituitary adenoma recurrence. Key words: Pituitary neoplasms; Neoplasm invasiveness; Gene expression; FSCN1; Tissue microarray