Sui Xiaojun, Zheng Zhangqiang, Yang Lei, Zhang Dapeng, Sun Xiangyu, Wang Ximo
Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, No. 6, Changjiang Road, Nankai, Tianjin, 300100, China.
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acute Abdomen Disease Associated Organ Injury and ITCWM Repair, Tianjin, China.
Diagn Pathol. 2025 Jul 17;20(1):85. doi: 10.1186/s13000-025-01691-6.
This study aimed to evaluate the value of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that positively express α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) as survival indicators for patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (eCCA).
The clinicopathological data of eCCA patients who underwent surgical treatment in Tianjin Nankai Hospital from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022, were retrospectively analysed. A total of 79 patients were included, 49 were male and 30 were female, with an age of (64.3 ± 8.3) years. Clinicopathological data such as age, gender, tumour location, lymph node metastasis, tumour differentiation degree, and TNM stage of the patients were recorded. The expressions of α-SMA and FAP, the markers of CAFs, in eCCA were detected by immunohistochemistry. The relationships between the expressions of the two proteins and the clinicopathological data and prognosis of the patients were analysed.
The positive expressions of α-SMA and FAP in CAFs were observed in 78.5% (62/79) and 35.4% (28/79) of the patients, respectively. There was a highly positive correlation between the expression of α-SMA and that of FAP (r = 0.992, P < 0.001). Univariate analysis showed that CAFs with positive FAP expression and tumour location were statistically significant in terms of overall survival time and recurrence-free survival time. Multivariate analysis indicated that positive FAP expression and tumour location might be independent factors affecting overall survival time and recurrence-free survival time.
CAFs with positive FAP expression may be a prognostic indicator of poor postoperative survival in eCCA patients and may serve as an independent predictor of poor postoperative survival rate in these patients.
本研究旨在评估阳性表达α平滑肌肌动蛋白（α-SMA）和成纤维细胞活化蛋白（FAP）的癌症相关成纤维细胞（CAF）作为肝外胆管癌（eCCA）患者生存指标的价值。
回顾性分析2019年1月1日至2022年12月31日在天津南开医院接受手术治疗的eCCA患者的临床病理资料。共纳入79例患者，其中男性49例，女性30例，年龄为（64.3±8.3）岁。记录患者的年龄、性别、肿瘤位置、淋巴结转移、肿瘤分化程度和TNM分期等临床病理资料。采用免疫组织化学法检测eCCA中CAF的标志物α-SMA和FAP的表达。分析这两种蛋白的表达与患者临床病理资料及预后的关系。
CAF中α-SMA和FAP的阳性表达分别见于78.5%（62/79）和35.4%（28/79）的患者。α-SMA的表达与FAP的表达呈高度正相关（r = 0.992，P < 0.001）。单因素分析显示，FAP表达阳性的CAF和肿瘤位置在总生存时间和无复发生存时间方面具有统计学意义。多因素分析表明，FAP表达阳性和肿瘤位置可能是影响总生存时间和无复发生存时间的独立因素。
FAP表达阳性的CAF可能是eCCA患者术后生存不良的预后指标，可作为这些患者术后生存率低的独立预测因子。
