Nuclear expression of Smad proteins and its prognostic significance in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 are components of the transforming growth factor β signaling pathway associated with tumorigenesis. The expression of these proteins is associated with tumor progression and prognosis of many cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the nuclear expression of Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma and to assess the clinical significance and prognostic value of their expression patterns. The nuclear expression levels of Smads were evaluated in 637 cases of clear cell renal cell carcinomas using immunohistochemistry. To determine the statistical significance of Smad expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, each of the cases were divided into 2 groups (low and high expression groups) according to the extent of nuclear staining. Nuclear expressions of Smad3 and Smad4 were inversely correlated with the patient's age, the nuclear grade, the tumor size, and the pTNM stage. The Smad3-low and Smad4-low groups showed significantly shorter cancer-specific and progression-free survival times. Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that both Smad3 and Smad4 were independent predictors for progression-free survival (P = .008 and P = .022, respectively). However, Smad2 expression was not related to clinicopathologic parameters and patients' survival. These results suggest that nuclear expressions of Smad3 and Smad4 were related to prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients and may serve as novel prognostic markers in clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients.