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Background Paxillin (PXN) has been found to be aberrantly regulated in various malignancies and involved in tumor growth and invasion. The clinicopathological and prognostic significance of PXN in gastric cancer is still unclear. Methods The expression of PXN was determined in paired gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues by Western blotting and real-time PCR. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression of PXN in 239 gastric cancer patients. Statistical analysis was applied to investigate the correlation between PXN expression and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients. Additionally, the effects of PXN on gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration were also evaluated. Results PXN was up-regulated in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines as compared with adjacent normal tissues and normal gastric epithelial cell line GES-1. Overexpression of PXN was correlated with distant metastasis (P = 0.001) and advanced tumor stage (P = 0.021) in gastric cancer patients. Patients with high PXN expression tended to have poor prognosis compared with patients with low PXN expression (P P = 0.020). Moreover, ectopic expression of PXN promotes cell proliferation and migration in AGS cells whereas knockdown of PXN inhibits cell proliferation and migration in SGC7901 cells. Conclusions PXN plays an important role in tumor progression and may be used as a potential prognostic indicator in gastric cancer.

Background The cell division cycle 20 homolog (CDC20) is an essential cofactor of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C). CDC20 overexpression has been detected in many types of human cancers; however, its clinical role in colorectal cancer remains unknown. Methods Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to compare CDC20 expression in adjacent non-cancerous, cancerous and liver metastatic tissues as well as in colon cancer cell lines and normal colon epithelial cell lines. Additionally, the correlation of CDC20 expression with patient clinical parameters and its diagnostic value were statistically analyzed. Results CDC20 was overexpressed in colon cancer cell lines/primary cancer tissues compared with normal colon epithelial cell lines/adjacent noncancerous tissue samples. Interestingly, CDC20 expression was further increased in metastatic liver tissues. CDC20 protein expression was significantly correlated with clinical stage (P = 0.008), N classification (P = 0.020), M classification (P = 0.013) and pathologic differentiation (P = 0.008). Patients with higher CDC20 expression had a shorter overall survival than those with lower CDC20 expression. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that CDC20 expression was an independent prognostic factor (P < 0.001). Conclusion CDC20 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker of human colorectal cancer.

Background Results from large epidemiologic studies on the association between vitamin D and gastric cancer are controversial. Vitamin D significantly promotes apoptosis in the undifferentiated gastric cancer cell, but the prognostic effects of its levels are unknown. Methods 197 gastric carcinoma patients who received treatment in the cancer centre of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2002 to January 2006 were involved in the study. The stored blood drawn before any treatment was assayed for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. The clinicopathologic data were collected to examine the prognostic effects of vitamin D. Results The mean vitamin D levels of the 197 gastric patients was 49.85 ± 23.68 nmol/L, among whom 114(57.9%) were deficient in Vitamin D(< 50 nmol/L), 67(34%) were insufficient (50-75 nmol/L) and 16(8.1%) were sufficient (> 75 nmol/L). Clinical stage (P = 0.004) and lymph node metastasis classification (P = 0.009) were inversely associated with vitamin D levels. The patients with high vitamin D levels group (≥ 50 nmol/L) had a higher overall survival compared with the low vitamin D levels group (< 50 nmol/L)(P = 0.018). Multivariate analysis indicated that vitamin D levels were an independent prognostic factor of gastric cancer (P = 0.019). Conclusions Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer.

Background Melanoma antigen D1 (MAGED1) is a member of the type II melanoma antigen (MAGE) family. The down-regulation of MAGED1 expression has been shown in breast carcinoma cell lines and in glioma stem cells and may play an important role in apoptosis and anti-tumorigenesis. However, there is no report on its clinical role in colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods We examined the expression of MAGED1 by qPCR in colorectal cancer tissues and their adjacent non-tumorous tissues taken from 6 cases and performed Western blotting and IHC analyses. In addition, we analyzed MAGED1 expression in 285 clinicopathologically characterized colorectal cancer patients. Results MAGED1 expression was significantly down-regulated in colorectal cancer tissues compared with adjacent non-tumorous tissues and was associated with clinical stage (p p = 0.001), N classification (p p p = 0.002). Patients with lower MAGED1 expression had a shorter survival time than those with higher MAGED1 expression. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that MAGED1 expression was an independent prognostic factors (p Conclusions MAGED1 may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker of human colorectal cancer.