“…Over a dozen studies in the last decade correlate high connexin expression
with a significantly better prognosis (e.g., Cx43 in prostate 39 , pancreatic 40 , breast 41 , head and neck SCC 42 , non-small-cell lung 43 , and colorectal 44 cancers; and Cx26 in colorectal 45 and intestinal
type-gastric 46 cancers). In contrast, more than a dozen studies correlate high connexin expression with a
poor prognosis (e.g., Cx43 in oral SCC 47 , esophageal SCC 48 and non-muscle invasive urothelial bladder cancer 49 ; and Cx26 in breast
cancer 50,51 , lung SCC 52 , esophageal SCC 53 , colorectal cancer 37 and papillary and follicular thyroid cancer 54 ). The complexity of these mixed
findings may be partly explained by the connexin family member being assessed not
only in the tumour but also in the host tissue.…”