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The expression of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in gastric cancer and their correlation to lymph node metastasis

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 in gastric cancer and to determine their relationship with lymph node metastasis. Fifty patients with pathologically confirmed gastric cancer were analyzed from September 2004 to December 2004. The expression levels of CXCL12 and CXCR4 were examined by immunohistochemical staining in the primary gastric tumor tissues, adjacent normal mucosa tissues, and metastatic lymph nodes and were analyzed along with clinicopathological risk factors, to determine their correlation with the prognosis. Positive staining for CXCL12 and CXCR4 was identified in 90.0 and 80.0% of the primary gastric tumor tissues, respectively, with significantly higher expression intensities observed in the primary gastric tumor tissues than in the adjacent normal mucosa tissues (P < 0.01 and P = 0.01, respectively). Positive staining for CXCL12 and CXCR4 was identified in 94.4 and 91.7% of metastatic lymph nodes, respectively, with significantly higher expression intensities in the metastatic lymph nodes than in the adjacent normal mucosa tissues (P < 0.01 and P = 0.01, respectively). Expression of CXCL12 in the primary gastric tumor tissues was not significantly associated with the clinicopathological characteristics of the tumor or the disease prognosis. However, the intensity of CXCR4 staining in primary tumor tissues was positively related with lymph node metastasis, TNM staging, and disease prognosis (P = 0.04, 0.03, 0.03, respectively). CXCL12 and CXCR4 are related to formation of gastric tumors and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, the expression of CXCR4 could be used as a biomarker to predict malignant features of gastric cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This project was financially supported by Zhejiang Province Medical and Scientific Research Foundation. We would like to thank Xiaojia Wang for advice. We would also like to thank Wengyong Sun, Meijuan Wu, and Chang Shi for their support. Written consent for publication was obtained from the patient or their relative.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, 301122, Zhejiang, China

    Jieer Ying, Qi Xu, Bixia Liu & Liming Zhu

  2. Department of Pathology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, 301122, Zhejiang, China

    Gu Zhang

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  1. Jieer Ying
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  2. Qi Xu
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  3. Gu Zhang
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  4. Bixia Liu
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  5. Liming Zhu
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Correspondence to Jieer Ying.

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Ying, J., Xu, Q., Zhang, G. et al. The expression of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in gastric cancer and their correlation to lymph node metastasis. Med Oncol 29, 1716–1722 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-011-9990-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-011-9990-0

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