Clinical significance of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, and its correlation with p53 and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), p53, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are important factors that facilitate tumor progression. The aims of our study were to investigate the expression of HIF-1α, p53, and VEGF in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated by curative surgery and to analyze their association with clinicopathological parameters and clinical outcome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The surgical specimens from 120 patients who had undergone potentially curative resection for ESCC were immunohistochemically assessed using monoclonal antibodies against HIF-1α, p53, and VEGF.

RESULTS

Positive rates of HIF-1α, p53, and VEGF expression were 61.7%, 56.7%, and 78.3%, respectively. No significant relationship was found between HIF-1α, p53, VEGF expression, and the analyzed clinicopathological parameters. There was no significant correlation between the expression of HIF-1α, p53, and VEGF. Univariate analysis revealed that overexpression of HIF-1α was associated with poor disease-free and overall survival (P = 0.023 and 0.01, respectively). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that upregulation of HIF-1α is an independent predictor for poor overall survival (P = 0.044).

CONCLUSIONS

HIF-1α was a useful independent prognostic factor for surgically treated ESCC. Further studies with larger sample size are required to determine the relationship between the expression of HIF-1α, p53, VEGF, and clinicopathological parameters.