Evaluation of protein expression pattern of stanniocalcin 2, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7, inhibin beta A and four and a half LIM domains 1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract. The pathogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) involves both genetic and environmental factors. Previously, we have carried out gene and protein expression profiling of ESCC using DNA microarrays and mass spectrometrybased quantitative proteomics, respectively. These studies resulted in identification of several potential biomarkers of ESCC, some with known reports of differential expression in the scientific literature and others that were novel observations from our studies. We report systematic validation of selected markers from our studies on a larger cohort of cancer tissue sections by immunohistochemical labeling of tissue microarrays. We have validated expression of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7), stanniocalcin 2 (STC2), inhibin beta A (INHBA) and four and a half LIM domains 1 (FHL1). Immunohistochemical labeling with anti-stanniocalcin 2 antibody demonstrated its overexpression in 132/140 (94%) cases, IGFBP7 showed overexpression in 127/140 (91%) cases and overexpression of INHBA was observed in 62/105 (59%) of ESCC cases. In contrast, FHL1 expression was observed only in 12/143 (8%) of ESCC cases suggesting its possible involvement in tumor suppression. These data suggest that IGFBP7, INHBA, STC2 and FHL1 might play an important role in ESCC tumorigenesis, which can be explored in future studies. Overall, our findings open up new avenues for development of novel therapeutics and/or diagnostic approaches in ESCC.

INHBA upregulation correlates with poorer prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

“…One earlier study mentioned elevated levels of INHBA in ESCC patients, but we are the first to identify IHNBA as an independent prognostic factor in ESCC patients. 18 What is more, the meta-analysis comprised nine studies of INHBA expression in six different types of cancer, showing that INHBA expression is a promising predictor of patient survival in solid tumors. Our results confirmed and extended the fact that high INHBA expression predicts poor prognosis in solid tumors to ESCC.…”

Development of a prognostic model for esophageal cancer based on nine immune related genes

“…Kita Y et al found that STC2 may be involved in lymph node metastasis, making it a potential prognostic marker for patients with EC (Kita et al 2011). Studies also demonstrated that STC2 may play an important role in ESCC tumorigenesis (Kashyap et al 2012). Abnormal expression of DKK1, which is regulated by DKK1-CKAP4 pathway, predicts the poor prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) (Shinno et al 2018).…”

STC2 Is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker for Pancreatic Cancer and Promotes Migration and Invasion by Inducing Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition

“…STC2 appears to be a robust phosphoprotein implicated in the processes of tumor development and progression in several malignancies [10][11][12][13]. Furthermore, it serves as a promising BioMed Research International marker for assessing the disease severity, and prediction of metastasis and prognosis [19].…”

“…STC2 was implicated in breast, cervical, and ovarian cancers [6][7][8][9], suggesting that it has hormone-specific or -dependent action in these malignancies. Moreover, it was reported to be involved in digestive system tumors, including esophageal, gastric, colon, and liver cancers [10][11][12][13], and respiratory system cancers including laryngeal and lung cancers [14,15]. It also has effects on renal carcinoma and prostate cancer [16,17].…”