A Comparative study of clinicopathological significance, BIRC7, and STC2 expression between squamous cell/adenosquamous carcinomas and adenocarcinoma of gallbladder

Abstract

Gallbladder cancers (GBCs) are uncommon, but highly aggressive cancers. The majority of GBCs are adenocarcinomas (ACs), but rare subtypes of GBCs such as squamous cell carcinoma (SC) and adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) are observed as well. The clinicopathological characteristics of SC/ASC have not been well documented. Expressions of BIRC7 and STC2 were observed in some tumors. However, BIRC7 and STC2 expressions and clinical significances in gallbladder cancer have not been reported.In this study, the protein expressions of BIRC7 and STC2 in 46 SCs/ASCs and 80 ACs were measured using immunohistochemistry.We demonstrated that positive BIRC7 and STC2 expressions were significantly associated with large tumor mass (>3cm), high TNM stage and lymph node metastasis in SC/ASC and AC (p<0.05). Positive expression of BIRC7 was significantly associated with invasion of around tissues and organs in both SC/ASC and AC. Additionally, negative BIRC7 and STC2 expressions were significantly associated with surgical curability in AC. Univariate Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that BIRC7 and STC2 expressions, differentiation, tumor size, TNM stages, invasion, lymph node metastasis, and surgical curability were significantly associated with post-operative survival in both SC/ASC and AC patients(p < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that positive BIRC7 and STC2 expressions are independent poor-prognostic factors in both SC/ASC and AC patients.Our study suggested that positive BIRC7 and STC2 expressions are closely correlated with clinical, pathological, and biological behaviors as well as poor-prognosis of gallbladder cancer.

High BIRC7 Expression Might Be an Independent Prognostic Indicator of Poor Recurrence-Free Survival in Patients With Prostate Cancer

“… 22 In squamous cell/adenosquamous carcinomas and adenocarcinoma of gallbladder, BIRC7 expression was an independent poor prognostic factor in terms of postoperative survival. 7 Although the oncogenic effects of BIRC7 have been reported in prostate cancer, its prognostic value has not been explored. In fact, current prognostic tools such as clinicopathological parameters lack sufficient accuracy to effectively predict recurrence in prostate cancer.…”

STC2 overexpression mediated by HMGA2 is a biomarker for aggressiveness of high-grade serous ovarian cancer

“…STC1 was reported to be a Ras-induced gene leading to the aggressive tumor growth of ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo (14). STC2 overexpression was found to be associated with cancer progression and worse clinical outcome (15)(16)(17)(18). Previous findings showed that STC2 was regulated by HIF-1 under hypoxic conditions and the induction of STC2 stimulated cell proliferation and promoted EMT formation in ovarian cancer (19).…”

Prognostic value of high stanniocalcin 2 expression in solid cancers

“…An increasing number of studies have indicated that STC2 is overexpressed in various types of cancer, such as breast cancer, [8–10] colorectal cancer, [11,12] gastric cancer, [13,14] esophageal cancer, [15] gallbladder cancer, [16] hepatocellular cancer, [17] nasopharyngeal cancer, [18] laryngeal cancer, [19] cervical cancer, [20] ovarian cancer, [21] and endometrial cancer. [22] Besides, high expression of STC2 is significantly associated with poor prognosis in malignant tumors.…”

“…[22] Besides, high expression of STC2 is significantly associated with poor prognosis in malignant tumors. [11–13,16,17,19–22] However, Todd et al found that high STC2 expression was prognostic for favorable overall survival (OS) in breast cancer. [9] Therefore, the prognostic value of STC2 expression in solid tumors is controversial.…”