Activin A expression in esophageal carcinoma and its association with tumor aggressiveness and differentiation

Wang,Zhenhua; Zhang,Ning; Song,Ruifeng; Fan,Ruitai; Yang,Liuqin; Wu,Liping

doi:10.3892/ol.2015.3248

Activin A expression in esophageal carcinoma and its association with tumor aggressiveness and differentiation

Authors:
- Zhenhua Wang
- Ning Zhang
- Ruifeng Song
- Ruitai Fan
- Liuqin Yang
- Liping Wu
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Affiliations: Department of Radiotherapy, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang, Henan 453000, P.R. China, Department of Neurology, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang, Henan 453000, P.R. China, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China, Department of Radiotherapy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China
Published online on: May 20, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2015.3248
Pages: 143-148
Copyright: © Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of activin A in esophageal carcinoma and its association with tumor differentiation and metastasis. A total of 57 esophageal carcinoma patients and 36 controls were included in the current study. The mRNA and protein expression levels of activin A in esophageal tumors or normal esophageal tissues were determined by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis. In addition, the association of activin A expression with esophageal carcinoma differentiation, metastasis and recurrence postoperatively was analyzed. The mRNA and protein expression levels of activin A in esophageal carcinoma were significantly higher compared with those in normal esophageal tissues (P<0.05). The expression of activin A was higher in poorly‑/moderately‑differentiated esophageal tumor tissues compared with that of well‑differentiated or control tissues (P<0.05). Furthermore, the expression of activin A in poorly‑differentiated esophageal tumor tissues was higher compared with that of moderately‑differentiated tissues (P<0.05). A positive correlation was also observed between differentiation degree and activin A expression. The expression of activin A was higher in patients with lymph node metastasis compared with those without metastasis (P<0.05). The cumulative survival rate of patients with a high expression of activin A at 1, 2 and 3 years postoperatively was significantly decreased compared with that of patients with a lower expression of activin A (P<0.05); by contrast, the cumulative recurrence rate was significantly higher in patients with a lower activin A expression (P<0.05). In conclusion, abnormal expression of activin A was detected in esophageal tumor tissues, which was correlated with the tumor differentiation, metastasis, survival and recurrence. In conclusion, activin A may be used as an auxiliary index in the diagnosis and prognosis of clinical esophageal carcinoma.

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