Background/aims: Ets-1 protein is a transcription factor that has been implicated in both tumor invasion and neovascularization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of Ets-1 expression in gastric cancer.
Methodology: We examined the expression of Ets-1 protein by immunohistochemical staining in tissues obtained from 124 primary gastric cancers. Ets-1 expression was detected by automated immunodetection (Ventana Medical Systems Inc., Tucon, AZ, USA).
Results: Ets-1 was not expressed in normal gastric epithelium. Ets-1 staining was defined as positive in 51.6% (64 of 124) of gastric cancer cases. There were no significant differences in age, gender, or histopathological grading. With regard to clinicopathological characteristics, significant differences were observed in the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node and distant metastases, increased tumor stage, and histological lymphatic and venous invasion. Patients with Ets-1 expression demonstrated poorer survival rates than patients without Ets-1 expression, as determined by the log-rank test (p=0.017), but multivariable analysis showed that the expression of Ets-1 was not an independent prognostic indicator (p=0.370).
Conclusions: Ets-1 expression in gastric cancers is correlated with histological prognostic indicators and is a useful marker for predicting the outcome for patients with gastric cancer.