1. Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
- Author
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Tomokazu Matsuyama, Maki Uenoyama, Takuya Hayashi, Yutaka Yoshizumi, Yuichi Ozeki, Takao Tanimoto, Yoshiaki Sugiura, Satoshi Aiko, Tadaaki Maehara, and Kuniaki Nakanishi
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Cancer Research ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Esophageal Neoplasms ,Angiogenesis ,Biology ,Disease-Free Survival ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Internal medicine ,Biomarkers, Tumor ,medicine ,Carcinoma ,Humans ,Nuclear protein ,Survival rate ,Transcription factor ,Aged ,Aged, 80 and over ,Regulation of gene expression ,Messenger RNA ,Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ,Gene Expression Profiling ,Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs ,Nuclear Proteins ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ,Prognosis ,medicine.disease ,Immunohistochemistry ,DNA-Binding Proteins ,Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ,Vascular endothelial growth factor ,Endocrinology ,Oncology ,chemistry ,Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ,Disease Progression ,Cancer research ,Female ,Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 ,Transcription Factors - Abstract
Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a transcription factor that plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis by regulating energy metabolism and inducing angiogenesis. Elevated levels of HIF-1alpha, a subunit of HIF-1, are noted in various malignant tumors, but it is unclear whether this is so in esophageal carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implications of HIF-1alpha expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In 215 patients with esophageal carcinoma, we examined immunoreactivity for HIF-1alpha protein, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein and p53 protein. In 38 patients, we examined the expression of HIF-1alpha messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) (using the semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]). A positive HIF-1alpha protein expression was recognized in 95% of the patients, and was strongly apparent within both the nuclei and/or cytoplasm of tumor cells. The proportion of patients in the 'high score' group for HIF-1alpha protein expression increased significantly with increasing VEGF protein expression. Immunoreactivity for HIF-1alpha protein was found to have a significant effect on disease-free survival rate in our univariate analysis, but no effect on overall survival rate. In RT-PCR, HIF-1alpha mRNA scores correlated significantly with scores for HIF-1alpha protein expression, but not with any clinicopathologic factor or either of the survival rates. The detection of HIF-1alpha protein and mRNA would appear to offer limited information as to progression and prognosis in esophageal carcinoma.
- Published
- 2005