Elevated CTHRC1 expression is an indicator for poor prognosis and lymph node metastasis in cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1) is overexpressed in different kinds of cancer tissues and may thus promote tumor formation. Thus, we aimed to explore whether CTHRC1 could be a predictor of clinical significance including survival in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). Western blot analysis was conducted in 20 frozen tissue specimens of CSCC and 10 frozen tissue sections of normal cervix. Immunohistochemistry was performed in 130 tissues with CSCC. The relationships of CTHRC1 expression with clinicopathological variables, and prognosis of CSCCs were explored. Statistical analyses were carried out using χ2 test, multivariate Cox proportional-hazard model, Kaplan-Meier method, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The expression of the CTHRC1 protein was significantly higher in tumors than in normal tissues (P < .001). CTHRC1 overexpression was strongly associated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage (P = .038), histologic grade (P < .001), stromal infiltration depth (P < .001), lymphovascular space invasion (P = .023), lymph node metastasis (P = .001), and recurrence (P = .021). The multivariate proportional-hazard model revealed that CTHRC1 overexpression was an independent predictor of overall survival and disease-free survival (P = .034 and P = .025, respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that high CTHRC1 expression was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (odds ratio: 2.658; 95% confidence interval: 1.120-6.305; P = .020). Therefore, CTHRC1 may be a valuable biomarker for predicting the prognosis and metastasis of CSCC and a potential therapeutic target for treatment of the disease.

Li N ，Chen L ，Liu C ，Jiang Y ，Rong J ... -  《-》

Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing-1 (CTHRC1) Expression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC): Prognostic Value and Clinico-Pathological Implications.

Lee CE ，Vincent-Chong VK ，Ramanathan A ，Kallarakkal TG ，Karen-Ng LP ，Ghani WM ，Rahman ZA ，Ismail SM ，Abraham MT ，Tay KK ，Mustafa WM ，Cheong SC ，Zain RB ... -  《International Journal of Medical Sciences》

Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1: a novel biomarker predicting cervical squamous cell carcinoma prognosis and lymph node metastasis.

Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 is aberrantly expressed in various malignant tumors. However, the expression and function of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma have not been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. In this study, we investigated the expression of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 through immunohistochemistry in 25 normal cervix specimens and 167 cervical squamous cell carcinomas and analyzed its association with various clinicopathologic parameters, including patient outcome. Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 protein was detected in 58 (34.7%) out of 167 patients and was highly related to International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, histologic grade, lymph node metastasis, vascular-lymphatic invasion and recurrence of cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Patients with positive special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 expression had significantly lower overall survival and disease-free survival compared with patients with negative expression of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). A multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 was an independent prognostic marker for both disease-free survival and overall survival of cervical squamous cell carcinoma patients (P = 0.038 and P = 0.010, respectively). A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 expression was strongly associated with lymph node metastasis (odds ratio = 2.497; P = 0.032). Sensitivity and specificity of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 for lymph node metastasis were 61.0 and 73.8%, respectively. These results showed that special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 expression was associated with tumor progression, metastasis and poor prognosis in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. It may serve as a new prognostic biomarker or a target for improving the treatment efficiency of patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Wang S ，Wang L ，Zhang Y ，Liu Y ，Meng F ，Ma J ，Shang P ，Gao Y ，Huang Q ，Chen X ... -  《-》

High expression of Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing 1 (CTHRC1) facilitates progression of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma through MAPK/MEK/ERK/FRA-1 activation.

Wang C ，Li Z ，Shao F ，Yang X ，Feng X ，Shi S ，Gao Y ，He J ... -  《JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH》

Significant effects of lymph and blood vascular invasion on the prognosis of early-stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

In the past 10 years, therapeutic advances have led to improved short-term efficacy for cervical carcinoma; however, the 5-year survival rate was not significantly enhanced. To investigate the effects of blood vessel invasion (BVI) and lymph vessel invasion (LVI) on the prognosis of early-stage cervical squamous carcinoma, we carried out immunohistochemical staining to distinguish blood and lymph vessels. Specimens from 111 IB-stage or IIA-stage cervical squamous carcinoma cases were examined for BVI and LVI by streptavidin-peroxidase immunohistochemistry using CD-34 and D2-40 monoclonal antibodies. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 13.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) statistical software. The survival rate and survival curve were derived by using the life table method and the Kaplan-Meier method, respectively. Multivariate prognosis analysis was conducted with Cox regression model, and prognosis was evaluated by measuring overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). BVI/LVI double positivity was an independent prognostic factor for both OS and PFS, whereas lymph node metastasis and surgical margin positivity affected only PFS. Patients inflicted with either BVI or LVI displayed no significant difference in survival time. Lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI), referring to blood and/or lymph vessel invasion correlated with lymph node metastasis, surgical margin positivity, depth of cervical interstitial invasion, squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SccAg) and age. LVSI was a risk factor for both recurrence (P = 0.013, relative risk 3.060) and death (P = 0.005, relative risk 4.512). Post-operation auxiliary external radiation did not improve survival for LVSI-positive cases. BVI/LVI double positivity constitutes an independent prognostic factor for early-stage cervical squamous carcinoma.

Zhang Y ，Yan M ，He J ，Sun J ，Sun X ... -  《-》