Nuclear factor kappa B: a marker of chemotherapy for human stage IV gastric carcinoma.

AIM: To detect the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) condition in human stage IV gastric carcinoma patients and to explore the correlation between NF-kappaB activation and survival of these patients after chemotherapy.
METHODS: Expression of NF-kappaB-p65 was determined by immunohistochemical analysis. Activity of NF-kappaB DNA-binding in carcinoma tissue was detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to show the relation between NF-kappaB and progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) of the patients.
RESULTS: The positive expression rate of NF-kappaB-p65 in 60 gastric cancer tissue samples was 76.7% (46/60). The expression of NF-kappaB-p65 was reduced in adjacent carcinoma and normal tissue samples. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) analysis showed a strong activation of NF-kappaB in cancer tissue samples. A survival difference was found in NF-kappaB-p65 positive and negative patients. NF-kappaB-p65 expression was negative in cancer tissue samples (n=14). PFS was 191.40+/-59.88 d and 152.93+/-16.99 d, respectively, in patients with positive NF-kappaB-p65 expression (n=46) (P=0.4028). The survival time of patients with negative and positive NF-kappaB-p65 expression was 425.16+/-61.61 d and 418.85+/-42.98 d, respectively (P=0.7303). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed no significant difference in PFS or OS. The 46 patient tissue which positive NF-kappaB-p65 expression was found in the tissue samples from the 46 patients whose PFS and OS were 564.89+/-75.94 d and s 352.37+/-41.32 d, respectively (P=0.0165).
CONCLUSION: NF-kappaB is activated in gastric carcinoma tissue, which is related to the OS after chemotherapy.