CDK4 Amplification in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Associated With Better Patient Outcome.

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the clinical and prognostic values of amplification and improve the risk stratification in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. amplification was analyzed by fluorescence hybridization using tissue microarray consisting of representative tissues of 520 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and its correlation with clinicopathological features and clinical outcomes were evaluated. amplification was found in 8.5% (44/520) of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. amplification was negatively correlated with disease progression ( = 0.003) and death ( = 0.006). Patients with amplification showed a significantly better disease-free survival ( = 0.016) and overall survival ( = 0.023) compared with those patients without amplification. When patients were further stratified into I-II stage groups and III-IV stage groups, amplification was significantly associated with both better disease-free survival ( = 0.023) and overall survival ( = 0.025) in the I-II stage group rather than the III-IV stage group. On univariate and multivariate analysis, invasive depth and amplification were associated with disease-free survival and overall survival. Taken together, amplification was identified as an independent prognostic factor for survival, which could be incorporated into the tumor-node-metastasis staging system to refine risk stratification of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.