RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Clinicopathological significance of angiopoietin-like protein 4 expression in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma
JF Journal of Clinical Pathology
JO J Clin Pathol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Association of Clinical Pathologists
SP 1054
OP 1058
DO 10.1136/jcp.2010.078600
VO 63
IS 12
A1 Kenichiro Shibata
A1 Toshiyuki Nakayama
A1 Hiroshi Hirakawa
A1 Shigekazu Hidaka
A1 Takeshi Nagayasu
YR 2010
UL http://jcp.bmj.com/content/63/12/1054.abstract
AB Background Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) is involved in regulating glucose homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, angiogenesis and lipid metabolism, and also acts as an apoptosis survival factor for vascular endothelial cells. The protein is also known to be induced in hypoxic environments characteristic of cancer tissue. Recently, ANGPTL4 was shown in cancer cells to facilitate the transendothelial passage of the cells, resulting in distant metastasis. Clinically, venous invasion resulting in distant metastasis is crucial for oesophageal cancer progression.Aims To determine ANGPTL4 expression and its association with clinicopathological factors and prognosis in human oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).Methods 104 cases of surgically-resected OSCC specimens were examined by immunohistochemistry. The association of ANGPTL4 expression with clinicopathological characteristics and postoperative survival rate was statistically analysed.Results Expression of ANGPTL4 was statistically correlated with the degree of differentiation, lymphatic invasion and venous invasion. Results of multivariate analysis, performed using multiple logistic regression, showed that lymph node metastasis, lymphatic invasion and ANGPTL4 expression were independent factors predicting venous invasion. Survival rates of patients with ANGPTL4-positive tumours tended to be statistically lower than those with ANGPTL4-negative tumours.Conclusions ANGPTL4 may play an important role in metastasis through lymphovascular invasion, and may potentially affect prognosis.