Cytokeratin 7 is a Predictive Marker for Survival in Patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Naohide Oue MD, PhD, Tsuyoshi Noguchi MD, PhD, Katsuhiro Anami MD, PhD, Seigo Kitano MD, PhD, Naoya Sakamoto MD, PhD, Kazuhiro Sentani MD, PhD, Naohiro Uraoka MD, Kazuhiko Aoyagi PhD, Teruhiko Yoshida MD, Hiroki Sasaki PhD, Wataru Yasui MD, PhD
Thoracic Oncology
Volume 19, Issue 6 / June , 2011

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Abstract

Background

Patients diagnosed with stage II and III esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have variable prognosis. This group would benefit greatly from the discovery of prognostic markers that are capable of identifying individuals for whom adjuvant treatment would be advantageous. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of immunohistochemically detected cytokeratin 7 (CK7) expression on disease-free survival, overall survival (OS), or therapeutic outcome in patients with ESCC.

Methods

Immunohistochemical analysis of CK7 was performed on 225 surgically resected specimens of stage 0–III ESCC.

Results

In total, 20 (9%) of 225 ESCC cases were positive for CK7. In stage 0–III ESCC patients, CK7 expression was statistically significantly associated with OS, independent of clinical covariates, including tumor, node, metastasis system stage. In stage II and III ESCC patients (n = 124), CK7 expression was significantly associated with poorer OS (P = 0.0377). Furthermore, in stage II and III ESCC patients who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 73), CK7 expression was significantly associated with poorer OS (P = 0.0003). CK7 expression was not associated with therapeutic outcome in patients with stage II and III ESCC who received adjuvant chemotherapy. In patients with CK7-positive ESCC (n = 16), receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy tended to be beneficial for patients with stage II and III ESCC (P = 0.0654).

Conclusions

Immunohistochemical analysis of CK7 will help to identify high-risk patients.

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