The expression of squalene epoxidase in human gastric cancer and its clinical significance

Abstract

Context: Squalene epoxidase (SQLE) is overexpressed in a variety of tumors, which may play an important role in their tumorigenesis, development, and prognosis.

Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of SQLE and explore its clinicopathological significance in gastric cancer.

Settings and design: The correlation between its positive expression and the pathological characteristics of patients (such as sex, age, tumor size, survival, tumor differentiation, TNM staging, and lymph node metastasis) was analyzed.

Materials and methods: Immunohistochemical method was used to detect its expression in 107 cases of gastric carcinoma and 34 cases of tumor-adjacent tissues.

Statistical analysis used: Counting data were analyzed by Chi-square test. Its overall survival was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Its hazard factors were analyzed by Cox multivariate analysis.

Results: The positive rate of SQLE in gastric cancer is 67.3%, which is higher than that in tumor-adjacent tissues (17.6%), <0.001. Expression of SQLE is closely related to tumor differentiation, TNM staging and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.030, P = 0.009, and P = 0.011, respectively). Furthermore, compared with those low expression of SQLE, the patients of overexpression had worse overall survival by Kaplan-Meier analysis (P = 0.025). Cox multivariate analysis shows that lymph node metastasis, tumor differentiation, SQLE, and TNM staging are independent factors for prognosis of gastric cancer (P = 0.003, 0.020, 0.018, and P = 0.001 respectively).

Conclusions: SQLE is overexpressed in gastric cancer. It could be used for the diagnosis and prognosis of the gastric cancer patients.

Keywords: Gastric cancer; SQLE; immunohistochemistry; protein; survival.