Prognostic significance of XIAP and NF-kappaB expression in esophageal carcinoma with postoperative radiotherapy

Background: X-chromosome-linked IAP (XIAP) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) are frequently overexpressed and correlate closely with chemoradiotherapy resistance and poor prognosis in many cancers. However, the significance of XIAP and NF-kappaB expression in radiotherapy sensitivity and its effect on the prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are still unknown. The aim of this study was to examine XIAP and NF-kappaB status in ESCC patients undergoing postoperative radiotherapy after radical surgery, and to evaluate their clinical significance. Methods: A total of 78 ESCC patients treated with postoperative radiotherapy after radical surgery were enrolled in this study. We immunohistochemically investigated the expression of XIAP and NF-kappaB in tissues from enrolled patients with specific antibodies. Then, the correlations among XIAP, NF-kappaB expression, clinicopathological features and its prognostic relevance in ESCC were analyzed. Results: The increased expression of XIAP and NF-kappaB in ESCC tissues were clearly correlated with the tumor differentiation and p-TNM stage. Significant positive correlations were found between the expression status of XIAP and NF-kappaB (r = 0.779, P = 0.000). Overexpression of XIAP and NF-kappaB and metastasis were significantly associated with shorter overall survival times in univariate analysis (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis also confirmed that XIAP expression was an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.005). Conclusions: XIAP and NF-kappaB are intensively expressed in ESCC. The level of XIAP is positively correlated to progression and prognosis of ESCC.

via World Journal of Surgical Oncology