Study on the expression of c-Met in gastric cancer and its correlation with preoperative serum tumor markers and prognosis
Zhengchao Zhang, Lele Miao, Song Wang, Yang Zhao, Yongqiang Xie, Heng Yun, Zhijian Ren, Guan Wang, Muzhou Teng, Yumin Li
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Studies have found that c-Met plays a critical role in the progression of solid tumors. This study aimed to investigate the expression of c-Met in gastric cancer (GC) and its correlation with preoperative serum tumor markers and prognosis, in order to provide a more theoretical basis for targeting c-Met in the treatment of GC. METHODS: Ninety-seven patients who underwent curative gastrectomy in our hospital from December 2013 to September 2015 were included in this study. The tissue microarray was constructed by paraffin-embedded tumor tissue of enrolled patients, including 97 GC points and 83 paracancerous points. Then, it was used for c-Met immunohistochemical staining, followed by an immunological H-score. The clinical baseline data and 5-year survival of patients with low and high c-Met expression were compared. Besides, the correlation between the expression of c-Met in tumor tissues and preoperative serum tumor markers was investigated. Finally, multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to explore the survival risk factors of patients. RESULTS: c-Met has a high expression rate in GC tissues 64.95% (63/97). The expression of c-Met was significantly different in different clinicopathological stages (p < 0.05); the high expression group also had a higher M stage and clinicopathological stage of GC. The correlation test between the c-Met H-score and CA125 was statistically significant (p = 0.004), indicating a positive correlation. Furthermore, high c-Met expression correlated with poor overall survival (OS) for 5 years (p = 0.005). It was also found that the high expression of c-Met in stage I-II patients was correlative with poor OS for 5 years (p = 0.026), while stage III-IV patients had no statistical significance (p > 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that c-Met might be an independent risk factor for survival 5 years after surgery. CONCLUSION: This study found that the high expression of c-Met in GC tissues was associated with poor 5-year OS in GC patients and was an independent risk factor for 5-year survival after curative gastrectomy. The expression of c-Met in GC tissues was also positively correlated with preoperative serum CA125.