Affiliations: [a] Department of Pathology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan 453003, China | [b] Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan 453100, China | [c] Pediatric Rescue Room, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong 276003, China | [d] Clinical Molecular Pathology Diagnosis Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan 453100, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Wei Su, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan 453100, China. Tel.: +86 373 3029123; Fax: +86 373 3029123; E-mail:suweisuweixx@163.com
Abstract: This study intended to explore the correlation of the expressions of c-Jun
and Egr-1 proteins with clinicopathological features and prognosis of
patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). From January 2008 to January
2011, 123 NPC patients and 59 patients with chronic rhinitis were enrolled
in this study. Fresh NPC and normal nasopharynx tissue specimens were
obtained during surgery. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was adopted to determine
the positive expressions of the c-Jun and Egr-1 proteins. A 5-year clinical
follow-up was conducted on all NPC patients. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve
and Cox regression model were used for survival analysis. Compared with
normal nasopharynx tissues, c-Jun expression was up-regulated but Egr-1
expression was down-regulated in NPC tissues. NPC patients with stage T3-T4
or stage III-IV had higher positive rates of c-Jun expression than those
with stage T1-T2 or stage I-II. However, the positive rates of Egr-1
expression was higher in patients with stage T1-T2 or stage III-IV than
those with stage T3-T4 or stage I-II. The survival rate of NPC patients with
high c-Jun expression was lower than those with low/negative c-Jun
expression, while the survival rate of NPC patients with high Egr-1
expression was higher than those with low/negative Egr-1 expression. The Cox
regression analysis revealed that stage T3-T4, high c-Jun expression, and
low Egr-1 expression were risk factors for poor prognosis of NPC patients.
In conclusion, our study suggests that the c-Jun and Egr-1 proteins can
serve as novel potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis
prediction of NPC.
