Open AccessAssociation of insulin‐like growth factor‐binding protein‐3 with radiotherapy response and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Author(s) -
Luo LiLing,
Zhao Lei,
Xi Mian,
He LiRu,
Shen JingXian,
Li QiaoQiao,
Liu ShiLiang,
Zhang Peng,
Xie Dan,
Liu MengZhong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
cancer communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.119
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 2523-3548
DOI - 10.1186/s40880-015-0046-2
Subject(s) - medicine , immunohistochemistry , radiation therapy , oncology , radiosensitivity , esophageal squamous cell carcinoma , proportional hazards model , insulin like growth factor binding protein , survival analysis , stage (stratigraphy) , carcinoma , receiver operating characteristic , growth factor , pathology , cancer research , insulin like growth factor , biology , receptor , paleontology
Background Insulin‐like growth factor‐binding protein‐3 (IGFBP‐3) is suggested to predict the radiosensitivity and/or prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The present study was designed to investigate the clinical and prognostic effects of IGFBP‐3 on ESCC. Methods IGFBP‐3 was detected by immunohistochemistry in paraffin‐embedded tissues from 70 ESCC patients treated with radiotherapy alone and further examined by western blotting analysis in 10 pairs of fresh ESCC tissues and adjacent non‐malignant esophageal specimens. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine cut‐off scores for tumor positivity and to evaluate patient survival status. The χ 2 test was performed to analyze the association of IGFBP‐3 expression with clinical characteristics and radiotherapy response. Associations between prognostic outcomes and IGFBP‐3 expression were investigated using Kaplan–Meier analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model. Results The threshold for IGFBP‐3 positivity was set to greater than 65% [area under the ROC curve (AUC) = 0.690, P < 0.019]. Of the 70 ESCC patient tissues tested, 32 (45.7%) were defined as having high IGFBP‐3 expression. The levels of IGFBP‐3 protein expression were decreased in 70.0% (7 of 10) of ESCC tissues compared with adjacent non‐malignant esophageal tissue. In addition, IGFBP‐3 expression was associated with pathologic classification ( P < 0.05 for T, N, and M categories and clinical stage). Patients with elevated protein level of IGFBP‐3 in the tumor had an improved radiotherapy response and prolonged overall survival ( P < 0.001). Conclusions High level of IGFBP‐3 expression in ESCC associates with early clinical stages and are predictive for favorable survival of the patients treated with radiotherapy.