Affiliations: [a] Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China | [b] Shanghai Key Laboratory of Gastric Neoplasms, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China | [c] Shanghai Institute of Digestive Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China | [d] Department of Pathology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Zhenggang Zhu, Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 197 Rui Jin Er Road, Shanghai 200025, China. Tel./Fax: +86 021 64373909; E-mail: drzhenggangzhu@hotmail.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Few biomarkers are available for the prediction of prognosis and recurrence in lymph node (LN)-negative gastric cancer (GC) currently. miR-126 functions as a tumor suppressor in GC, however, its clinical significance in LN-negative GC remains unknown. AIM: To investigate the associations of tissue miR-126 level with the clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome of LN-negative GC patients. METHODS: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to examine the tissue miR-126 level in 315 LN-negative GC patients who underwent curative gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy. The associations of tissue miR-126 level with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with matched adjacent non-tumor tissues, miR-126 expression was significantly down-regulated in tumor tissues. A reduced tissue miR-126 level statistically correlated with aggressive clinicopathological characteristics, including larger tumor size, deeper local invasion, and poorer prognosis. Notably, multivariate analysis identified advanced T stage and low miR-126 level as independent predictors of the unfavorable prognosis and recurrence of LN-negative GC. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate for the first time that advanced T stage and low miR-126 level are predictors of unfavorable prognosis and recurrence in LN-negative GC patients. These parameters should be taken into account to stratify patients for adjuvant therapy and close follow-up.
