Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 14, 2010; 16(42): 5380-5387
Published online Nov 14, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i42.5380
STAT-3 correlates with lymph node metastasis and cell survival in gastric cancer
Jing-Yu Deng, Dan Sun, Xiang-Yu Liu, Yi Pan, Han Liang
Jing-Yu Deng, Xiang-Yu Liu, Han Liang, Department of Gastric Oncology Division, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and City Key Laboratory of Tianjin Cancer Center, Tianjin 300060, China
Dan Sun, Lung Cancer Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China
Yi Pan, Department of Pathology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China
Author contributions: Deng JY and Liang H contributed equally to this work; Deng JY, Liang H, Sun D and Liu XY designed the research; Deng JY, Liu XY, Sun D and Pan Y performed the research; Deng JY, Liu XY and Pan Y performed pathological analysis; Sun D analyzed data; Deng JY and Liang H wrote the paper.
Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program), No. 2010CB529301; Tianjin Health Bureau Research Foundation, No. 09KC74
Correspondence to: Han Liang, Professor, Department of Gastric Oncology Division, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and City Key Laboratory of Tianjin Cancer Center, Tianjin 300060, China. dengery@sohu.com
Telephone: +86-22-23340123 Fax: +86-22-23359984
Received: June 8, 2010
Revised: August 14, 2010
Accepted: August 21, 2010
Published online: November 14, 2010
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the correlation between gastric cancer growth and signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) expression.

METHODS: We assessed the expressions of STAT3, phosphor-STAT3 (pSTAT3), suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS-1), survivin and Bcl-2 in gastric cancer patients after gastrectomy by immunohistochemical method. In addition, in situ hybridization was used to further demonstrate the mRNA expression of STAT3 in gastric cancer.

RESULTS: With the univariate analysis, expressions of STAT3, pSTAT3, SOCS-1, survivin and Bcl-2, the size of primary tumor and the lymph node metastasis were found to be associated with the overall survival (OS) of gastric cancer patients. However, only pSTAT3 expression and the lymph node metastasis were identified as the independent factors of OS of gastric cancer with multivariate analysis. STAT3 expression was correlated with the lymph node metastasis. There were positive correlations between expressions of STAT3, survivin, Bcl-2 and pSTAT3 in gastric cancer, whereas there was negative correlation between STAT3 expression and SOCS-1 expression in gastric cancer.

CONCLUSION: STAT3 can transform into pSTAT3 to promote the survival and inhibit the apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. SOCS-1 might be the valid molecular antagonist to inhibit the STAT3 expression in gastric cancer.

Keywords: Gastric cancer; Signal transducer and activator of transcription-3; Lymph node metastasis; Apoptosis; Survival analysis