The Clinical Implications of Death Domain-Associated Protein (DAXX) Expression.
10.5090/kjtcs.2018.51.3.187
- Author:
Taek Yong KO
1
;
Jong In KIM
;
Eok Sung PARK
;
Jeong Min MUN
;
Sung Dal PARK
Author Information
1. Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Kosin University Gospel Hospital, Kosin University College of Medicine, Korea. charlie822@empas.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Esophageal squamous carcinoma;
Death domain-associated protein (DAXX)
- MeSH:
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell;
Chromatin;
Esophageal Neoplasms;
Esophagus;
Joints;
Lymph Nodes;
Neoplasm Metastasis;
Up-Regulation
- From:The Korean Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
2018;51(3):187-194
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Death domain-associated protein (DAXX), originally identified as a pro-apoptotic protein, is now understood to be either a pro-apoptotic or an anti-apoptotic factor with a chromatin remodeler, depending on the cell type and context. This study evaluated DAXX expression and its clinical implications in squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. METHODS: Paraffin-embedded tissues from 60 cases of esophageal squamous carcinoma were analyzed immunohistochemically. An immune reaction with more than 10% of tumor cells was interpreted as positive. Positive reactions were sorted into 2 groups: reactions in 11%–50% of tumor cells and reactions in more than 51% of tumor cells, and the correlations between expression and survival and clinical prognosticators were analyzed. RESULTS: Forty-three of the 60 cases (71.7%) showed strong nuclear DAXX expression, among which 19 cases showed a positive reaction (31.7%) in 11%–50% of tumor cells, and 24 cases (40.0%) showed a positive reaction in more than 51% of tumor cells. A negative reaction was found in 17 cases (28.3%). These patterns of immunostaining were significantly associated with the N stage (p=0.005) and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (p=0.001), but overall survival showed no significant difference. There were no correlations of DAXX expression with age, gender, or T stage. However, in stage IIB (p=0.046) and stage IV (p=0.014) disease, DAXX expression was significantly correlated with survival. CONCLUSION: This investigation found upregulation of DAXX in esophageal cancer, with a 71.7% expression rate. DAXX immunostaining could be used in clinical practice to predict aggressive tumors with lymph node metastasis in advanced-stage disease, especially in stages IIB and IV.
