Ran Sun1, Lin Ye2, Min Zhang2, Zhu Qiu1, Tingxiu Xiang1, Jun Tang1, Xiangyu Wang3, Lili Li3, Jie Luo3, Dongsheng Zhang4, Guosheng Ren5. 1. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. 2. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. 3. Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Department of Clinical Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Sir YK Pao Center for Cancer and Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 4. Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, China. 5. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: rgs726@163.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Aberrant expression of interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) has been reported in several hematologic malignancies. However, the prognostic significance of IRF4 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unknown. METHODS: IRF4 protein expression in ESCC tumor specimens was determined immunohistochemically. The correlation of IRF4 expression with clinico-pathological features was assessed from a cohort of 100 patients with primary ESCC. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between IRF4 expression and patient survival. RESULTS: A Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high IRF4 expression had a significantly longer overall survival rate than those with low IRF4 expression (p = 0.0006). Furthermore, multi-variate analyses revealed that IRF4 protein expression is an independent prognostic indicator for ESCC patients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that increased IRF4 protein expression correlates with improved outcome in ESCC. IRF4 may therefore represent a promising prognostic biomarker and potential immuno-therapeutic target for patients with ESCC.
BACKGROUND: Aberrant expression of interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) has been reported in several hematologic malignancies. However, the prognostic significance of IRF4 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unknown. METHODS:IRF4 protein expression in ESCC tumor specimens was determined immunohistochemically. The correlation of IRF4 expression with clinico-pathological features was assessed from a cohort of 100 patients with primary ESCC. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between IRF4 expression and patient survival. RESULTS: A Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high IRF4 expression had a significantly longer overall survival rate than those with low IRF4 expression (p = 0.0006). Furthermore, multi-variate analyses revealed that IRF4 protein expression is an independent prognostic indicator for ESCC patients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that increased IRF4 protein expression correlates with improved outcome in ESCC. IRF4 may therefore represent a promising prognostic biomarker and potential immuno-therapeutic target for patients with ESCC.