Department of Pathology, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Department of Urology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, No. 71 Xinmin Street, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
BMC Urol. 2019 Jul 19;19(1):67. doi: 10.1186/s12894-019-0499-8.
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) expression has been reported in many types of cancer, including prostate cancer (PCa). However, the role of EpCAM expression remains inconsistent. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of EpCAM expression in PCa.
Publications were searched online using electronic databases. The available data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The odds ratios (ORs) or hazard ratios (HRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.
We identified seven studies in which immunohistochemistry was used and that included 871 prostatic tissue samples. EpCAM expression was significantly higher in PCa samples than in benign and normal tissue samples (OR = 77.93, P = 0.002; OR = 161.61, P < 0.001; respectively). No correlation of EpCAM overexpression with pT stage and lymph node metastasis was observed; however, EpCAM overexpression showed a significant correlation with Gleason score (OR = 0.48, P = 0.012) and bone metastasis (OR = 145.80, P < 0.001). Furthermore, TCGA data showed that EpCAM overexpression was not closely correlated with age, pT stage, lymph node metastasis, number of lymph node, prostate-specific antigen level, Gleason score, biochemical recurrence, and overall survival. Based on multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis, a significant correlation was observed between EpCAM overexpression and 5-year worse biochemical recurrence free-survival.
EpCAM overexpression may be correlated with the development of bone metastasis and worse biochemical recurrence free-survival of PCa. Further studies are needed to verify these findings.
上皮细胞黏附分子（EpCAM）在许多类型的癌症中都有表达，包括前列腺癌（PCa）。然而，EpCAM 的表达作用仍不一致。我们进行了一项荟萃分析，以评估 EpCAM 在 PCa 中的临床病理和预后意义。
通过在线电子数据库检索文献。从癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）获取可用数据。计算比值比（OR）或风险比（HR）及其 95%置信区间（CI）。
我们确定了 7 项使用免疫组织化学方法的研究，共包括 871 例前列腺组织样本。EpCAM 在 PCa 样本中的表达明显高于良性和正常组织样本（OR=77.93，P=0.002；OR=161.61，P<0.001）。EpCAM 过表达与 pT 分期和淋巴结转移无相关性；然而，EpCAM 过表达与 Gleason 评分（OR=0.48，P=0.012）和骨转移（OR=145.80，P<0.001）呈显著相关。此外，TCGA 数据显示，EpCAM 过表达与年龄、pT 分期、淋巴结转移、淋巴结数量、前列腺特异性抗原水平、Gleason 评分、生化复发和总生存无密切相关性。基于多变量 Cox 比例风险回归分析，EpCAM 过表达与 5 年生化复发无生存显著相关。
EpCAM 过表达可能与骨转移的发生和 PCa 生化复发无生存的恶化有关。需要进一步的研究来验证这些发现。
