Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2022; 10(27): 9657-9669
Published online Sep 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i27.9657
Prognostic significance of sex determining region Y-box 2, E-cadherin, and vimentin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Chao Li, Yu-Qing Ma
Chao Li, Department of RICU, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830054, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Yu-Qing Ma, Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830054, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China
Author contributions: Li C and Ma YQ contributed to the conception and design; Ma YQ contributed to the administrative support; Li C contributed to the provision of study materials or patients, collection and assembly of data, performed the data analysis and interpretation; All authors contributed to the manuscript writing and final approval of manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81860422.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by Ethical Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University (20180223-08). Prior to the operation, each patient was clearly informed about the procedures, extraction of tissues, and pathological examination.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardian provided informed written consent about personal and medical data collection prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yu-Qing Ma, MD, Doctor, Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University, No. 137 Liyu Mountain South Road, Xinshi District, Urumqi 830054, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. 790701592@qq.com
Received: May 17, 2022
Peer-review started: May 17, 2022
First decision: June 16, 2022
Revised: June 30, 2022
Accepted: August 21, 2022
Article in press: August 21, 2022
Published online: September 26, 2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) can promote squamous cell carcinoma (SSC) because it regulates the migration and invasion of several different types of squamous carcinoma cells. However, few studies have examined the prognostic value of SOX2 and its effect on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in esophageal SSC (ESCC), a cancer characterized by high invasion and rapid metastasis.

AIM

To verify the relationship of SOX2 and the EMT in ESCC and determine the prognostic value and significance of SOX2 and protein markers of the EMT in ESCC.

METHODS

One hundred and eighty-five postsurgical ESCC patients were retrospectively examined. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect SOX2, E-cadherin, and vimentin in ESCC tissues. The chi-square test was used to determine the relationships of the expression of these proteins with clinical data. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to evaluate factors associated with overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

SOX2 and vimentin had high expression in ESCC tissues and correlated with the depth of local carcinoma invasion. SOX2 expression had positive correlations with tumor size, vimentin expression, and the EMT, and a negative correlation with E-cadherin expression. Expression of SOX2 and vimentin had negative correlations with OS. SOX2 expression was an independent prognostic risk factor for poor OS in patients with ESCC.

CONCLUSION

SOX2 expression was an independent risk factor for OS in patients with ESCC and its expression had a positive correlation with the expression of vimentin, a classic marker of the EMT. SOX2 promoted the migration and invasion of ESCC, and this may related to its effect on vimentin in promoting the EMT.

Keywords: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, Sex determining region Y-box 2, Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, Vimentin, E-cadherin

Core Tip: Sex determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) functions in the pathogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma (SSC) by driving the increase of tumor size and invasion, and is also associated with the expression of β-catenin and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Our examination of the role of SOX2 in esophageal SSC (ESCC) indicated that its expression had a positive correlation with vimentin expression, an established marker of the EMT. SOX2 expression was also associated the migration and invasion of ESCC, and this may be related to the upregulation of vimentin and the desreased expression of E-cadherin, which promote the EMT. SOX2 expression was an independent risk factor for poor OS in patients with ESCC.