Open AccessExpression of Legumain Correlates with Prognosis and Metastasis in Gastric Carcinoma
Author(s) -
Peng-Tao Guo,
Zhi Zhu,
Zhe Sun,
Zhenning Wang,
Xinyu Zheng
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0073090
Subject(s) - metastasis , immunohistochemistry , tissue microarray , cancer , biology , carcinoma , medicine , pathology , oncology , cancer research
Objective Legumain, a novel asparaginyl endopeptidase, has been observed to be highly expressed in several types of tumors, which may play a vital role in carcinogenesis. However, there is no study investigating the relationship among Legumain expression, clinicopathologic, biological variables and patient prognosis in gastric carcinoma. Methods In this study, a tissue microarray (TMA) containing 282 samples of primary gastric cancer was assessed for Legumain expression by immunohistochemistry. The TMA included 98 lymph node metastasis samples. The protein expression levels of Legumain were evaluated by Western blot analysis. Results Cytoplasmic immunoreactivity of Legumain was over-expressed in gastric cancer compared with paired normal gastric mucosa. Increased Legumain levels were significantly correlated with clinical stage, presence of distant metastasis. Legumain was significantly over-expressed in primary gastric cancer with metastasis than without metastasis. Patients with Legumain-positive localized tumors had lower 5-year overall survival (OS) than those with Legumain-negative tumors. Multivariate survival analysis showed that Legumain was an independent prognostic marker for OS (HR 1.459, 95% CI 1.251–1.703, P = 0.007). Conclusions Legumain expression could serve as a prognostic biomarker in patients at risk of developing metastasis or recurrence with gastric carcinoma.