Slug is a predictor of poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Background: Slug, a regulator of epithelial mesenchymal transition, was identified to be differentially expressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) using cDNA microarrays by our laboratory. This study aimed to determine the clinical significance of Slug overexpression in ESCC and determine its correlation with clinicopathological parameters and disease prognosis for ESCC patients.

Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis of Slug expression was carried out in archived tissue sections from 91 ESCCs, 61 dysplastic and 47 histologically normal esophageal tissues.

Overexpression of a splice variant of oncostatin M receptor beta in human esophageal squamous carcinoma.

Background: Expression of oncostatin M receptor beta (OSMRβ) has been reported in human cancers, however its role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unknown. Using differential display, earlier we reported the identification of an alternatively spliced variant of OSMRβ in ESCC. Here in we characterized this novel variant encoding a soluble form of this receptor (sOSMRβ) and determined its clinical significance and correlation with the expression of oncostatin (OSM) and leukemia inhibitory factor receptor beta (LIFR β) in ESCC.

Nuclear and cytoplasmic accumulation of Ep-ICD is frequently detected in human epithelial cancers.

Background: We previously demonstrated that nuclear and cytoplasmic accumulation of the intracellular domain (Ep-ICD) of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) accompanied by a reciprocal reduction of its extracellular domain (EpEx), occurs in aggressive thyroid cancers. This study was designed to determine whether similar accumulation of Ep-ICD is a common event in other epithelial cancers.

Methodology And Results: Ten epithelial cancers were immunohistochemically analyzed using Ep-ICD and EpEx domain-specific antibodies.

Clinical significance of GPR56, transglutaminase 2, and NF-κB in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Proteins do not operate as individual units, and components of intracellular canonical pathways often cross talk in tumor genesis. We hypothesized that G-protein-coupled receptor 56 (GPR56), transglutaminase (TG2), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) may collaborate in interconnected pathways and contribute to the aggressive behavior of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Immunohistochemical analysis of GPR56, TG2, and NF-κB was carried out using ESCC tissue microarrays.

Sperm protein 17 is a novel marker for predicting cisplatin response in esophageal squamous cancer cell lines.

Expression of sperm protein 17 (Sp17) mRNA has been reported in various malignancies. In an earlier study, we reported the upregulation of Sp17 transcripts in primary esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs) using differential display and detected Sp17 transcripts in 86% of ESCCs by RT-PCR, whereas no transcripts were detected in the paired normal esophageal tissues. Herein we hypothesized that Sp17 might be used as a marker for detecting the response of anticancer therapies in ESCCs.