The Association of Neuropilin-1 Expression with Prognosis According to the Histology of Gastric Cancer.

Background/Aims Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) is known to be related with various types of cancer and considered as a novel tumor marker or a therapeutic target. The aim of the study is to identify the clinical implication of NRP-1 expression in terms of prognosis in gastric cancer. Methods A total of 265 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy for the treatment of gastric cancer from 2008 to 2011 were included. NRP-1 expression of tumors was determined by immunohistochemistry. Patients' clinicopathologic characteristics, operation details, and long-term outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. Results One hundred and eighty-one patients (68.3%) showed NRP-1 expression; 84 (65.6%) was in gland formation (GF) type and 97 (70.8%) were in no gland formation (nGF) type. There was no survival difference according to the NRP-1 expression in all patients. In the group of GF, NRP-1 expression was not independent prognostic factor, although patients with NRP-1 expression had better survival outcome. In contrast, patients with NRP-1 expression had worse 5-year survival rate in the group of nGF (p=0.027) and it was an independent prognostic factor multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 1.923; 95% confidence interval, 1.041 to 3.551). Conclusions NRP-1 expression in the nGF type gastric cancer predicts a poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]