%0 Journal Article %A MASAZUMI INOUE %A HIROYA TAKEUCHI %A SACHIKO MATSUDA %A TOMOHIKO NISHI %A KAZUMASA FUKUDA %A RIEKO NAKAMURA %A TSUNEHIRO TAKAHASHI %A NORIHITO WADA %A HIROFUMI KAWAKUBO %A YUKO KITAGAWA %T IL-8/CXCR2 Signalling Promotes Cell Proliferation in Oesophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Correlates With Poor Prognosis %D 2021 %R 10.21873/anticanres.14830 %J Anticancer Research %P 783-794 %V 41 %N 2 %X Background/Aim: The inflammatory cytokine IL-8 and its receptor CXCR2 are key signalling pathway molecules in cancer development. We hypothesized that IL-8/CXCR2 signalling promotes tumour progression in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Materials and Methods: We examined the relationship between IL-8/CXCR2 expression and clinicopathological factors by immunohistochemistry in samples from 63 patients with resectable ESCC. The effects of IL-8/CXCR2 signalling on cell proliferation and gene expression were examined in vitro and in vivo using ESCC cell lines. Results: Increased IL-8/CXCR2 signalling was associated with shorter overall survival (p<0.05) and recurrence-free survival (p<0.05) in ESCC patients. Multivariate analysis identified IL-8/CXCR2 expression as a prognostic factor for surgically treated ESCC (p<0.05). In vitro, IL-8 exposure or over-expression significantly enhanced ESCC cell proliferation. SB225002, a CXCR2-specific antagonist, and IL-8 siRNA significantly suppressed cell proliferation. Conclusion: IL-8/CXCR2 expression is an independent prognostic factor for surgically treated ESCC, and IL-8/CXCR2 signalling contributes to ESCC cell proliferation. %U https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/anticanres/41/2/783.full.pdf