The expressions of NUDT5 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of NUDT5 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and relationship between NUDT5 and squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus. Methods Immunohistochemistry method was used to determine the expression of NUDT5 in ESCC samples. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate overall survival and the distant metastasis-free survival. Results Sixty-two human ESCC tissues were analyzed for NUDT5 protein expressions by immunohistochemical approach. Among 62 ESCC samples, high expression level of NUDT5 protein accounted for 45.2% (28/62). Increased expression of NUDT5 was associated with increased lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with ESCC (P=0.001). Patients with high expression level of NUDT5 tended to have poorer overall survival, although the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.076). In addition, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the expression of NUDT5 protein was significantly associated with the distant metastasis-free survival (P=0.049). Conclusions NUDT5 protein might be useful as a predictive biomarker in ESCC. Key words: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; NUDT5; Lymph node metastasis; Overall surviva; Distant metastasis