Anti-phosphohistone H3 as an Independent Prognostic Factor in Human Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Background: The immunohistochemical staining of phospho-histone H3 (PHH3) has recently been reported to predict the prognosis of different tumors. However, it has not been evaluated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of PHH3 in ESCC. Materials and Methods: The number of anti-phophohistone H3-positive nuclei [i.e. PHH3 mitotic index (MI)] was calculated by immunohistochemistry of 50 primary tumor samples obtained from patients with ESCC who underwent curative esophagectomy. Results: The PHH3 MI per 10 high-power fields ranged from 1 to 72 (median=15.5). When the patients were divided into two groups using a cut-off value of 10, the 5-year survival rate of the patients with PHH3 MI ≤10 was significantly higher than that of patients with PHH3 MI >10. Multivariate analysis indicated PHH3 MI to be an independent prognostic factor. Conclusion: The expression of PHH3 impacts the prognosis of patients with ESCC.