RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 ZEB1 expression is associated with prognosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma JF Journal of Clinical Pathology JO J Clin Pathol FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Association of Clinical Pathologists SP 593 OP 599 DO 10.1136/jclinpath-2015-203115 VO 69 IS 7 A1 Katsumi Terashita A1 Makoto Chuma A1 Yutaka Hatanaka A1 Kanako Hatanaka A1 Tomoko Mitsuhashi A1 Hideki Yokoo A1 Takumi Ohmura A1 Hiroyuki Ishizu A1 Shunji Muraoka A1 Atsushi Nagasaka A1 Takahiro Tsuji A1 Yoshiya Yamamoto A1 Nobuaki Kurauchi A1 Norihiko Shimoyama A1 Hidenori Toyoda A1 Takashi Kumada A1 Yuji Kaneoka A1 Atsuyuki Maeda A1 Koji Ogawa A1 Mitsuteru Natsuizaka A1 Hirofumi Kamachi A1 Tatsuhiko Kakisaka A1 Toshiya Kamiyama A1 Akinobu Taketomi A1 Yoshihiro Matsuno A1 Naoya Sakamoto YR 2016 UL http://jcp.bmj.com/content/69/7/593.abstract AB Background/Aim Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is one of the most aggressive malignant tumours, so the identification of molecular targets for ICC is an important issue. Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) is a key inducer of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). The aim of the present study was to clarify the clinical significance of ZEB1 in ICC and the associations between ZEB1 expression and EMT-related proteins.Methods We immunohistochemically examined the expression of EMT-related proteins, namely ZEB1, vimentin and E-cadherin, in ICC specimens from 102 patients. The clinicopathological and prognostic values of these markers were evaluated.Results ZEB1 and vimentin were expressed in 46.1% and 43.1% of tumours, respectively, and E-cadherin expression was lost in 44.1% of tumours. ZEB1 expression showed a significant inverse correlation with E-cadherin expression (p=0.004) and a positive correlation with vimentin expression (p=0.022). Altered expression of ZEB1 was associated with aggressive tumour characteristics, including advanced tumour stage (p=0.037), undifferentiated-type histology (p=0.017), lymph node metastasis (p=0.024) and portal vein invasion (p=0.037). Moreover, overall survival rates were significantly lower for patients with high ZEB1 expression than for patients with low ZEB1 expression (p=0.027). Kaplan–Meier analysis also identified E-cadherin expression (p=0.041) and vimentin expression (p=0.049) as prognostic indicators for overall survival.Conclusions ZEB1 expression is associated with tumour progression and poor prognosis in patients with ICC through positive correlations with vimentin and negative correlations with E-cadherin. ZEB1 expression is associated with a poor prognosis and might be an attractive target for the treatment of ICC.